by Dr. Ralph de la Torre, a former heart surgeon who built and became the face of Steward Health Care and its network of neglected hospitals, is stepping down from the company on Tuesday and will no longer serve as chairman and CEO, the company said. in a statement to the Globe Saturday.
With his affinity for luxury yachts and corporate jets, De la Torre became a symbol of greed in the for-profit healthcare industry, amid increasing stories this year of patients harmed by shortages of staff and essential supplies at Steward hospitals. De la Torre is believed to own a majority stake in the private company, which was one of the country’s largest private health care systems and is now being dismantled in bankruptcy proceedings.
A Steward spokesman did not say Saturday whether De la Torre will remain a major shareholder in the company he helped found in Boston in 2010.
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