FALL RIVER — Following news that Steward Health Care is looking to sell its nine Massachusetts hospitals, Southcoast Health's President and CEO David O. McCready says he's interested in taking over Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River, where, just under two miles away, Southcoast already runs Charlton Memorial Hospital.

In a newsletter addressed to the local community, McCready said he was "alarmed" at the news.

"As you can imagine, this will be a complex transaction involving multiple parties – with the potential to be truly devastating for these hospitals’ patients and employees if there is an interruption of service," McCready wrote in the letter dated March 8. "In the worst case, if Steward and their partners fail to find a buyer, or enough buyers, they may have to close one or more of their hospitals.

"As we engage with Steward, our message to them is clear: The best option for St. Anne’s Hospital, its patients, its employees, and our community, is for St. Anne’s to join the Southcoast Health family."

Read more at heraldnews.com.