For-profit Steward Health Care has agreed to sell its Steward Health Care Network and the primary care providers of Steward Medical Group, which it refers to as “Stewardship Health” for a reported $245 million.
The buyer is Rural Healthcare Group, an affiliate of private investment firm Kinderhook Industries LLC. Founded in 2022, RHG is headquartered in Nashville and has 17 clinics across Tennessee and North Carolina. Its CEO, Benson Sloan, previously served as vice president at naviHealth, an Optum/United-owned post-acute service provider.
The transaction is subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, and the transaction will close pending completion of all closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Steward filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 and put all of its U.S. hospitals up for sale.
Earlier this year, Steward announced plans to sell its physician network to Optum Care, a division of UnitedHealth Group, for an undisclosed sum, but that deal was not completed.
Stewardship features a network composed of approximately 5,000 employed and affiliated providers across nine states. Across Medicaid and commercial populations, it manages around 400,000 attributed lives.
“As part of the ongoing Chapter 11 proceedings, following a robust and active bidding process, Steward Health Care is pleased to have reached an agreement with Rural Healthcare Group,” said Mark Rich, president of Steward Health Care, in a statement. “Kinderhook has over 20 years of experience investing in mid-sized healthcare businesses that serve the nations’ most vulnerable populations. Kinderhook’s investments are focused on protecting access to high-quality healthcare in communities that are truly underserved. Rural Healthcare Group is a well-respected group of healthcare professionals that specifically focuses on underserved and underinsured areas. We are confident that Stewardship Health will continue its stellar treatment of the patient population as a result of this transaction.”
"We are excited to bring our mission and approach to the state of Massachusetts, and the other states where Stewardship operates and supports primary care clinics," said Benson Sloan, CEO of RHG, in a statement. "In many ways, RHG has directly preserved and restored primary care in our Tennessee and North Carolina markets as both independent providers and health systems have sought us out to ensure long-term continuity of care in their communities. A thriving primary care infrastructure is critical to supporting local hospitals and specialists, as primary care providers are instrumental in ensuring patients are directed to the appropriate facilities at the right time," Sloan continued.
