Steward Health Care has received approval from US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez for the sale of its physician network, Stewardship Health, to Rural Healthcare Group for $245m.

Steward Health Care recently signed a definitive agreement for the sale of its Stewardship Health business to Rural Healthcare, an affiliate of Kinderhook Industries.

The transaction was endorsed during a court hearing in Houston, where Lopez affirmed it as the best offer available to the bankrupt hospital operator.

This latest development comes after Steward received permission to use a $30m lifeline from Massachusetts authorities amid efforts to sell six medical centres. 

Five of the hospitals that the company plans to restructure and sell are located in the Bay State area. These hospitals are Morton Hospital, Holy Family Hospital, Good Samaritan Medical Center, St Anne’s Hospital and St Elizabeth’s Medical Center. 

Steward Health Care is concurrently pursuing the sale of its approximately 30 hospitals, which are being marketed separately from the physician network, as reported by Reuters.

The company’s stalled efforts for the sale of its Massachusetts hospitals caused the state to step in and seize a hospital.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced that agreements in principle have been reached to transition operations at Steward’s Saint Anne’s Hospital, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Holy Family Hospitals, and Morton Hospital to new operators.

The Healey-Driscoll administration plans to acquire Saint Elizabeth’s and facilitate its transition to a new owner and ensure the hospital remains operational.

Healey said: “Today, we are taking steps to save and keep operating the five remaining Steward Hospitals, protecting access to care in those communities and preserving the jobs of the hard-working women and men who work at those hospitals.

“Our team under Secretary Kate Walsh worked day in and day out to secure new, responsible, qualified operators who will protect and improve care for their communities. We’re grateful for the close collaboration of the legislature to develop a fiscally responsible financing plan to support these transitions.”

Lawrence General Hospital is poised to become the new operator for the Holy Family campuses in Haverhill and Methuen.

Lifespan is set to assume Morton and Saint Anne’s operations, while Boston Medical Center is expected to take over Good Samaritan and Saint Elizabeth’s post the eminent domain process.