In the hours since Steward Health Care filed for bankruptcy, the state has launched a website with resources about the situation and will open a hotline later Monday afternoon for health care providers and concerned patients of the system's eight Massachusetts hospitals.

State government will send legal counsel to represent the Bay State's interests in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Texas, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh said at a press conference Monday morning.

The for-profit Steward health care system declared bankruptcy around 3:30 a.m. Monday morning after teetering in financial uncertainty for months. The company said in a press release that the bankruptcy filing was "a necessary measure to allow the Company to continue to provide necessary care to its patients in their communities without disruption."

Gov. Maura Healey and her administration stressed in a State House press conference at 10 a.m. Monday that care will continue at these hospitals throughout the bankruptcy proceedings, and that the action brings Steward one step closer to getting out of the state -- which Healey has repeatedly called on the company to do.

"The hospitals that were open yesterday remain open today," Walsh said. "The providers who were employed yesterday remain employed today and the community care that you could access yesterday, you can access today. Today's bankruptcy filing does not change that. What bankruptcy does mean is that a federal court in Texas will be working with Steward creditors, our legal representation and others to address their financial challenges."

Attorney General Andrea Campbell said her office is looking into options to hold Steward operators accountable.

"How do we ensure accountability? I know the public is eager to get answers on this. And I can't at this moment talk about that work until it's complete. And you'll hear from us in a timely manner with a sense of urgency," Campbell said. "I also want to make it crystal clear that I take it very seriously in any effort for this hospital system to make a profit to the detriment of patients to strip hospitals of their value. And if those efforts have violated the law, those involved will absolutely hear from our office at the appropriate time."

Healey and Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein added that officials had been anticipating and preparing for this situation.

Patients and providers with more questions about the situation can visit mass.gov/stewardresources, which the administration launched this morning. The hotline will be running later Monday afternoon.