In the US bankruptcy court on Monday in Houston, Judge Christopher Lopez heard an emergency motion from Steward Anthony Ray Schrock, who told the court that the sale of 31 hospitals under the Steward umbrella is a "large, heavy lift."

The attorneys for Steward Health asked for an extension for the sale of the hospitals, asking for them to be done in two rounds, the first round scheduled for a July 11 sale date and round two, with the final sale approval on August 22.

There were some objections to the emergency motion, claiming they were in place of "our due process rights," asking for the judge to deny the debtor's request in the motion.

The attorney for Steward told the court the attempts to borrow an additional $225 million would need to have a commitment fee that would guarantee reimbursement for the parties involved, looking at third-party debtor-in-possession (DIP) options for the funds. However, the chief restructuring officer for Lazard Freres & Co., an investment banking firm for Steward, said he was not aware that this type of option had ever happened before.

Steward Health needed to obtain the funds by no later than June 14, when funding was expected to be all gone.

Cowan told the judge the company is looking for more than a band-aid for Steward in order to continue operating past next Tuesday.

The filing stated it would "encourage a competitive post-petition financing marketing process and will facilitate obtaining critical finance on favorable terms" for Steward.

The judge granted Cowan's motion for third-party funds but warned the committee to use the funds judicially, allowing for a competitive bidding process to take place in the next few weeks.

The judge stated that the importance of successfully selling hospitals is at the utmost, and not the same as selling warehouses.

The judge's approval of Steward's emergency motion guarantees that third-party lenders will be repaid before all other lien holders.

It was announced that US Trustees had appointed two ombudsmen to help get time for the debtors and lenders to work together in what was called "a significant task."

Steward operates 31 hospitals in eight states, including Trumbull Regional in Warren, Hillside Rehabilitation in Howland, and Sharon Regional in Sharon.

Steward's proposal has been met with an objection from the Justice Department, which says there are more questions to be answered about the proposed sale of its physicians' network to Optum, a division of UnitedHealth.

The Dallas-based Steward Health filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, claiming assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion.