In September 2023, Jennifer Knight, 37, arrived at the emergency room at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton describing acute chest pain and shortness of breath. Instead of being evaluated, she was sent to the registration line, where she later collapsed and died.
The Boston Globe reports that Knight's family is pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit in connection with her death. The case concerns the circumstances of Knight's care that night.
According to the account, Zachos sent Knight back to the registration line. The account does not specify whether she received an electrocardiogram. Knight later collapsed and died while waiting in the registration line. Her funeral was attended by more than 200 people.
An Emergency Room Buckling Under Its Own Weight
The night Knight arrived, Good Samaritan's emergency department was operating under severe staffing pressure, according to the same Globe account. Zachos herself had worked 16 hours in triage without meal-break coverage or any break and had filed an unsafe staffing form two days later. The department's staffing and screening procedures also came under scrutiny.
The staffing crisis wasn't new. The Massachusetts Nurses Association had advocated for legislation addressing longstanding staffing conditions. The crunch grew worse after nearby Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital was forced to close following a 10-alarm fire in February 2023, a shutdown that drove a 30% surge in daily ER visits and doubled ambulance arrivals at Good Samaritan, according to WGBH.
Investigators Found No Evidence Training Ever Happened
State health inspectors arrived at Good Samaritan on September 27, 2023, and found an overwhelmed emergency department with recurring staffing problems, according to the inspection. Federal regulators subsequently placed the hospital in immediate jeopardy — the government's most severe safety designation. The inspection also prompted scrutiny of how Knight's care was handled. The available account does not establish what Zachos believed about Knight's condition.
Good Samaritan fired Zachos after Knight's death. But the firing didn't stick for long. Kate Walsh, then the state's secretary of health and human services, personally asked Steward founder and CEO Ralph de la Torre to rehire Zachos, and the report states Walsh intervened on Zachos's behalf. Governor Maura Healey's office has since acknowledged intervening in the firing, saying officials believed it was unjust. Zachos did not respond to requests for comment, and Milsten declined to comment by email, citing the pending litigation.
A Reinstatement With Political Undertones
The intervention carries added weight because of who Holly Zachos is married to: George Zachos, a senior official in Governor Healey's administration. That long professional relationship has raised questions about whether the state's intervention in his wife's firing amounted to favoritism, though the extent of that influence remains contested. The Massachusetts Nurses Association was involved in staffing advocacy, according to the Globe.
Under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, Medicare-participating hospitals like Good Samaritan are legally required to provide an appropriate medical screening examination to anyone presenting to an emergency department, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Globe's broader investigation also examined patient-safety concerns at Steward hospitals, including long waits and shortages of nurses, medical supplies, and emergency-department beds.
The Collapse of a Hospital Empire
Steward Health Care operated dozens of hospitals nationwide, including nine Massachusetts community hospitals, before it sought millions of dollars in bailout money from Healey's administration. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2024 and explored sales of its hospitals that year. Federal inspectors issued immediate-jeopardy citations at several Steward facilities, including Good Samaritan, according to Becker's Hospital Review.
Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston opened a criminal investigation into Steward in July 2024, focusing on allegations of financial fraud and foreign corruption, per CBS News. Congressional scrutiny also focused on de la Torre's refusal to testify about the health system's bankruptcy and patient safety record, according to Healthcare Dive.
Good Samaritan's New Identity
Good Samaritan Medical Center was a Steward facility. Healey later signed legislation supporting financially distressed community hospitals and safety-net systems. Those state efforts continue even as Jennifer Knight's family pursues its wrongful death claims.
