Frustrated Carney Hospital employees call Steward hospital closure "disrespectful" at rally
BOSTON - Dozens of frustrated Carney Hospital employees gathered with lawmakers at a rally on Monday after Steward Health Care announced the closure of the Boston hospital last week.
Steward Health Care to close Dorchester hospital
"The emergency room is amazing here! Amazing!" a man cried through the horn.
Carney is owned by Steward Health Care, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. On Friday, Steward announced it received bids to sell five of its seven hospitals in Massachusetts, but there are no potential buyers for Carney or Nashoba Valley Medical Center, which Steward plans to close by August 31. The announcement violates a state law that requires a 120-day notice before closure.
"Such a disrespectful way to let the community know that they're taking away a hospital that has been sitting here for 160 years," said Alyssa Bartholomew, who works in the hospital's communications department.
Congressman Stephen Lynch, Senator Ed Markey, and other Massachusetts lawmakers tried to give a voice to the community's frustrations at the rally.
"Was a real shock. A real kick in the gut," Lynch told the crowd.
Some in the crowd pushed back, wondering whether lawmakers should have stepped in sooner.
"All the politicians showed up here today. Like, where were they months ago?" one nurse said.
Carney Hospital has been around for 160 years. It has roughly 150 beds, 70 of which are psychiatric. Community members say the closure of the hospital could put pressure on neighboring medical services and community health centers.
Working to prevent Carney Hospital closing
Lawmakers say they are working on options to prevent the closure of the hospital or extend the time until it closes. One possibility is for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to declare a state of emergency and then petition the courts to allow the state to take over operations of the hospital.
Governor Maura Healey says her administration has no specific power to prevent Carney's closure. Instead, her focus is on saving the other five Steward hospitals in the state.
"Unfortunately, I don't have the power or the lever to stop that," Healey said, "We call on Steward right now, who has within its power the ability to work with us on a deal to save those five hospitals to step up and act."