Employees rally against Steward Health Care's closure of Carney Hospital in Boston
BOSTON - Employees of Steward Health Care's Carney Hospital in Dorchester rallied on Monday to try to prevent the hospital from closing its doors at the end of the month.
The now-bankrupt Steward announced on July 26 that it would close two of its Massachusetts hospitals, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer and Carney Hospital, by August 31. The two hospitals employ over 1200 workers. The announcement of the closures violated a state law mandating a 120-day notice before a hospital shuts its doors.
Employees at Monday's rally called on lawmakers to prevent the closure and save their jobs. They said the hospital is a key part of the Dorchester community with its 159-bed capacity, 70 of which are psychiatric.
"We cannot let the greed and the adverse of Steward defeat entire populations here in these communities. Step up and do the right thing. If you're able or unwilling to do the right thing, get out of the way and let those of us who can do it," one employee said to the crowd.
"70 percent of the patients that we see are on Medicaid. There are no other places that take those patients, that care as much as we do about those patients and provide them not just with medical services, we feed them, we clothe them, we follow up with them. It's imperative that we continue to serve this community," said Stephen Wood, who is an acute care nurse practitioner at Carney.
Employees and lawmakers, such as Senator Ed Markey, Congressman Stephen Lynch, and Mayor Michelle Wu, also held a rally last week at the hospital.
"We will figure out a way together," Mayor Wu said last week.
Steward Health Care files for bankruptcy
Steward Health Care filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in May, saying that it was millions of dollars in debt. The Dallas-based company owns hospitals across Massachusetts, Texas, Florida and other states.
The company said the filing allowed it to "continue to provide necessary care to its patients in their communities without disruption" in May.
Federal authorities in Boston also opened a federal investigation against the company, sources told CBS News. This comes as senators voted to subpoena the company's CEO, Ralph de la Torre, on July 25. He is accused of profiting at the expense of patients.
"You are responsible for every minute longer that a patient has to wait for care, every lost dollar of workers' salaries," Sen. Markey said last week.