Restructuring planned for Memorial Hospital

(Updated 2:18 p.m.)
PAWTUCKET – Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island will be restructured, resulting in an undetermined number of layoffs, and changes that include obstetrical services moving to other Care New England hospitals.

“We believe that continuing to invest in Memorial as it is currently structured and not rightsizing our staffing level would be fiscally irresponsible,” Dennis D. Keefe, president and CEO of Care New England, said in a statement.
The hospital will become largely an outpatient facility, with primary care and specialty services, as well as an Emergency Department, orthopedic and outpatient surgical services, and a small inpatient unit.
The Center for Rehabilitation, which offers inpatient and outpatient services, also will remain open.

The restructuring, which begins immediately, is expected to take several months to complete. It was announced Monday by the Care New England Health System board of directors.
According to a news release, the changes are being made in response to the national health care industry’s shifting focus from inpatient hospital care to outpatient preventative and primary care.
Memorial has operated for more than 100 years as a medical/surgical hospital. It also serves as a major teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for primary care.
In addition to moving its Birthing Center to Kent or Women & Infants hospitals, one medical/surgical inpatient unit and the intensive care unit will be transferred to other Care New England facilities. The release said that the hospital will work with regulatory officials for approval required to make these changes.
“On a national level, the Affordable Care Act emphasizes population health care, which calls upon health care facilities to keep people well through preventative measures instead of just treating them in hospitals when they are sick,” Keefe said. “This trend is forcing facilities and systems to redefine themselves to be more streamlined and responsive to the needs of the people we serve.”
The national trend, along with a 200-hospital bed surplus and “flagging inpatient income” at Memorial, prompted the move, he said.

Keefe said “millions of dollars in upgrades” to Memorial’s physical plant and information technology systems were invested since Care New England affiliated with the hospital three years ago. He said new specialists also were hired in an attempt to improve the “dire financial situation” that Care New England inherited.

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Another planned change at Memorial includes moving inpatient rotations for the Memorial Internal Medicine Residency Program to Kent. Rotations will continue at Providence VA Hospital.
The release said that lab services will be consolidated throughout the Care New England system, and duplicative positions will be eliminated, causing the need for layoffs.
Dr. Michael Dacey, Memorial president, said the hospital realizes there is concern about relocating obstetrical services.
“But, we know the state already has sufficient obstetrical beds, and we believe there is already sufficient choice in the community to satisfy the diverse preferences of parents-to-be. We encourage the community advocates to engage with us in order to understand that we are continuing to provide availability of a family practice-assisted birth as well as to ensure that the maternity services of Care New England are fully responsive to their needs,” Dacey said.
Dacey said there is no timetable set for the Birthing Center move. He said Memorial has 906 employees, and 298 beds, but only about 50 are occupied on a daily basis.
Some of the displaced employees may also shift to other Care New England hospitals, Dacey said.

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