Ralph de la Torre is a

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States after Mexican Americans, Stateside ...

former health care executive and cardiac surgeon. The

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Steward Health Care Steward Health Care was a large private for-profit hospital, for-profit health system headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It utilizes an integrated care model to deliver healthcare across its hospitals and primary care locations, as well as through ...

from 2010 to 2024, and previously CEO of its predecessor

Caritas Christi Health Care Caritas Christi Health Care was a non-profit Catholic healthcare system in the New England region of the United States. It was established in 1985 and was the second largest healthcare system in New England. In 2010, Caritas Christi was sold to ...

starting in 2008, de la Torre also founded and served as the first head of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's CardioVascular Institute from 2007 to 2008. De la Torre is currently the subject of a congressional investigation into the financial mismanagement of Steward, which declared bankruptcy in May 2024.

Early life and education

Ralph de la Torre grew up in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, the son of Cuban immigrants fleeing from the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. His parents were both of medical backgrounds, his mother a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

and his father a

cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

, once the head of

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

at General Calixto Garcia University Hospital in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. De la Torre received a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

education at

The Bolles School The Bolles School is an American private college preparatory day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. It has a lower school (including pre-kindergarten), a middle school, and a high school, spread across four campuses around the Jackso ...

from 7th to 12th grade. He graduated from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1988 with a

Bachelor of Science in Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Bac ...

. After working for a short time in engineering, he attended a joint program administered by

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, from which he earned his doctorate in medicine and masters in science. He received surgical training from

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

(MGH), where he met his first wife, Wing Cheung. De la Torre and Cheung later had twin sons together. De la Torre's

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

at MGH began in 1992, and he began his

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

one year later. In 1997 he graduated and began a

fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

in thoracic surgery, remaining at MGH. He completed his two-year fellowship in 1999.

Career

Cardiac surgeon

In 1999, de la Torre accepted a position at

Boston Medical Center Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a non-profit 514-bed academic medical center and safety-net hospital in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. As part of the Boston Medical Center Health System, the hospital provides primary and s ...

as a cardiac surgeon. He moved to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) the next year. In 2007, he founded BIDMC's CardioVascular Institute, and acted as its first CEO until the next year. As a surgeon, de la Torre was regarded by many as ambitious and highly talented, and personally as someone with an affinity for luxury.

CEO of Caritas Christi Health Care

In 2008, in part with the help of former

Partners Healthcare Mass General Brigham (MGB) (formerly Partners HealthCare) is a not-for-profit, integrated health care system that engages in medical research, teaching, and patient care. It is the largest hospital-based research enterprise in the United States, ...

chairman Jack Connors, de la Torre secured a meeting with the new

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of Caritas Christi Health Care, a financially struggling eastern Massachusetts

health system A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. There is a wide variety of health systems aroun ...

owned by the

Archdiocese of Boston The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its mother church is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Boston), Cathedral o ...

. Caritas' previous CEO had

resigned Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

in 2006 following allegations of

misconduct Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...

. Amid its financial difficulties and following failed attempts to sell the hospital system to another operator, the Archdiocese created an independent board of directors which began its search for a new CEO. Following his interview with the board, Caritas offered de la Torre the position. In 2009, de la Torre's Massachusetts medical license expired. De la Torre spent his first year at Caritas

restructuring Restructuring or Reframing is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. ...

the system, turning its finances from a

loss Loss may refer to: *Economic loss *Grief, an emotional response to loss **Animal loss, grief over the loss of an animal Mathematics, science, and technology * Angular misalignment loss, power loss caused by the deviation from optimum angular al ...

of $20 million in 2008 to an

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...

of $31 million in 2009, recovering from the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. Despite the short-term success, de la Torre believed Caritas' long-term prospects depended on a significant cash infusion—particularly to preserve jobs and fund the system's

pension plan A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a "Defined benefit pension pla ...

, which was

uninsured Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

and had been frozen due to lack of contributions by Caritas. De la Torre sought potential investors, and in 2009 met with

Robert Nardelli Robert Louis "Bob" Nardelli (born May 17, 1948) is an American businessman who was the CEO of Freedom Group from September 2010 to March 2012. Prior to that role, Nardelli served as chairman and CEO of Chrysler from August 2007 to April 2009 a ...

, an executive at

private equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...

Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity, and real estate strategies.Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Qua ...

and former CEO of

Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...

and

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

. Nardelli was impressed with de la Torre's energy and expertise, describing him as having a "tremendous edge." The conversation led to a formal proposition for Cerberus to purchase Caritas and convert the system to

for-profit Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessari ...

CEO of Steward Health Care

De la Torre continued at Steward in the same capacity as at Caritas. The transition of a hospital system to for-profit was not without controversy, especially in the context of Massachusetts, a state dominated by non-profit health systems. De la Torre was largely the public face of the company, though throughout his life he has given limited media interviews. In 2020, de la Torre led a group of physicians in purchasing the entirety of Cerberus' stake in Steward. Cerberus exchanged its ownership for a convertible note, allowing it to collect interest with the option of converting it back into equity at a later date. The next year, Steward borrowed $335 million from its principal landlord,

Medical Properties Trust Medical Properties Trust, Inc., based in Birmingham, Alabama, is a real estate investment trust that invests in healthcare facilities subject to NNN leases. The company owns 403 properties in the United States, Australia, Colombia, Germany, Italy ...

, in order to buy out Cerberus' note in exchange for MPT acquiring a 10% stake in the company.

Steward bankruptcy

In July 2024, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

HELP Help may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Help (2010 film), ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film * Help (2021 theatrical film), ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film * Help (2021 TV ...

Committee voted 16–4 to issue its first

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

since 1981, compelling de la Torre to testify to his role in the financial collapse of Steward on September 12. This followed two declined invitations to testify voluntarily in April and June. However, in the first days of September, de la Torre's attorney responded to the subpoena on his behalf, describing the requested hearing as a "pseudo-criminal proceeding" aimed at convicting "Dr. de la Torre in the eyes of public opinion." He further requested the panel to reschedule the hearing, requesting that it be held off until after the company's bankruptcy had completed, as his testimony "may run afoul of the federal court order prohibiting him from discussing ..

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

efforts." Despite this, the committee proceeded with the hearing. Consistent with his submitted response, de la Torre did not appear at the hearing as required. On September 19, the committee held two votes, one each for criminal and civil enforcement of the subpoena. Both resolutions passed in a unanimous 20–0 vote, sending them to the full Senate for a final vote. Only one senator,

Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, abstained. In response to the votes, one of de la Torre's attorneys accused the committee of seeking to "frame Dr. de la Torre as a criminal scapegoat for the systemic failures in Massachusetts’ health care system." They further stated that de la Torre was barred from answering questions regarding Steward's bankruptcy by court order. The criminal contempt resolution passed in the Senate by

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a propo ...

on September 25. De la Torre again responded, alleging that the Senate was continuing "their violations of Dr. de la Torre’s constitutional rights, particularly those protected under the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution." The Senate HELP Committee first addressed de la Torre's Fifth Amendment concerns in a September 5 reply letter to his attorney, one week before the hearing: De la Torre submitted his resignation to the Steward board of directors in late September 2024, effective October 1. In a statement, his spokesperson said:

''De La Torre v. Sanders et al''

On September 30, 2024, de la Torre's last day as Steward CEO, de la Torre filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Senate HELP Committee and all but one of its members (Senator Rand Paul, the only member of the committee to abstain from the September 19 contempt vote), alleging that they were "collectively undertaking a concerted effort to punish Dr. de la Torre for invoking his Fifth Amendment right."

Controversy and criticism

Implication in 2019 Malta political crisis

Following Steward's failed venture in Malta, an April 2024 Maltese magistrate report implicated Steward executives, including de la Torre, in an alleged bribery scheme involving multiple Maltese officials. Though magistrate's report recommended charges against de la Torre including those of

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

, and

misappropriation In law, misappropriation is the unauthorized use of another's name, likeness, identity, property, discoveries, inventions, etc. without that person's permission, resulting in harm to that person. Another use of the word refers to intentional a ...

, as of September 2024 Maltese officials have yet to formally charge him. However,

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

reported in July that the office of the U.S. Attorney in Boston was investigating Steward as a whole for, among other things, violations of the

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (, ''et seq.'') is a United States federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from Bribery, bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests. The FCPA is applic ...

. A Steward spokesperson later confirmed this, declining to comment further. Further,

whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

Ram Tumuluri in September reported to the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

that "de la Torre boasted that he could issue 'brown bags' f cashto government officials if necessary to close transactions." Steward publicly responded, saying that Steward Health Care International operated "in a lawful and transparent manner throughout the period in which the company was operating Malta." They further asserted that there was "no basis to accuse Dr. de la Torre of anything."

Role in alleged financial mismanagement of Steward Health Care

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

Spotlight Team report on Steward Health Care, published in the months after Steward declared bankruptcy and authored in concert with the

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a global network of Investigative journalism, investigative journalists. It was founded in 2006 and specializes in organized crime and corruption. It publishes its stories through ...

(OCCRP), found several instances in the years leading up to the bankruptcy where under de la Torre's leadership, while patients were suffering injury and dying for reasons attributed by federal regulators to insufficient staffing and supply shortages related to unpaid bills, Steward was instead paying large sums on investor dividends, executive bonuses, private investigators, and non-business-related travel. At several junctures, the Globe and OCCRP found evidence of Steward capital being paid specifically to ventures owned by de la Torre or for what appeared to be personal benefit. In one instance in 2022, de la Torre presented a $10 million donation to Greenhill School, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

preparatory school which his sons attended. According to the school, the donation, which funded the creation of a new science center to be named after de la Torre's mother, originated from the "de la Torre Family Foundation." However, no such foundation was found to have existed. Instead, tax filings found that the donation came from Steward Health Care, which donated $3 million more in 2023. Subsequently, the contract to manage construction of the science center went to Cref, a company in which de la Torre purchased a 40% stake in 2021 with funds from Steward International and which shared a Dallas office space with Steward. De la Torre sold his stake in CREF in August 2024. In another instance according to bankruptcy filings, about $30 million per year was paid by Steward to Management Health Services (MHS) for "executive oversight and overall strategic directive." MHS, also part-owed by de la Torre, employed at one time 16 people, which included de la Torre and several other Steward executives, Robert Gendron, as well as the pilots for Steward's three private jets owned through MHS. De la Torre was in 2019 paid $6.3 million by MHS in a 10-month period. MHS's jets were often found to be used for non-business travel, including to destinations such as San Jose, Costa Rica, where Steward had no official business but where de la Torre owned multiple residences, and to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where his family spent a week-long vacation. Additionally, Steward International purchased an apartment for de la Torre in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

for €8.1 million. The Spotlight report highlighted the deaths of fifteen Steward patients attributable to supply and staffing shortages related to the system's financial state.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torre, Ralph de la Living people Healthcare company founders American health care chief executives Cardiac surgeons Duke University alumni Harvard Medical School alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American people of Cuban descent