An attorney has been appointed to oversee the liquidated assets of Northern Berkshire Healthcare. The parent company of North Adams Regional Hospital filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy Thursday. The hospital has been closed since March 28.
Harry Murphy of the Boston-based firmed Murphy & King will handle matters for the now-defunct company, according to Dan Cohn, who was representing NBH.
“The Chapter 7 filing is designed to facilitate an orderly transition of this facility to whatever its future is going to be,” Cohn said April 3 at Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield, Mass.
According to documents filed in federal bankruptcy court April 3, NBH has between $1 million and $10 million in estimated assets, though its estimated liabilities range from $10 million to $50 million.
A temporary restraining allowing Berkshire Medical Center to take necessary steps to operate a satellite emergency facility at North Adams Regional Hospital has been continued until a hearing Tuesday in Northampton. NBH employed about 530 people.
To open the satellite facility, Berkshire Medical Center needs approval from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has said the state is working quickly on its end, while the area’s federal delegation sent a letterApril 4 to CMS urging the agency to expedite the process.
