PAWTUCKET — Care New England has submitted its application to close Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island to the R.I. Department of Health, ending inpatient and emergency services while providing community-based primary and specialty care services in the city, possibly at the MHRI campus.
“The intended goal is to adjust care delivery to deliver the primary care services the community uses and requires. These services are expected to include a primary care-based practice, (family care and internal medicine centers), behavioral health and nutritional counseling and certain outpatient specialty consultation services. Depending upon the specific community needs, diabetic counseling and treatment may be added,” the application states.
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“Today’s submission to the Department of Health represents a required and critically important step in the process Care New England carefully outlined recently,” said Dr. James E. Fanale, executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief clinical officer. “While we move forward with this difficult, yet necessary decision, we do so with compassion for those affected and the utmost respect for the legacy of care and community that Memorial has stood for throughout its history, while striving to ensure access to care throughout the service area.”
According to Care New England, Memorial’s daily census has been significantly below capacity and below what is required to be financially viable. Due to service readiness, staffing, and operational requirements to meet licensure conditions, Memorial loses approximately $2 million per month.
Upon announcing its intent to close the hospital in mid-October, CNE said that the 294-bed hospital has averaged a daily inpatient census of just 15 to 20 patients resulting in an operating loss in the past fiscal year of $23 million.
With the filing, Care New England reported a $68 million loss from operations in fiscal year 2016 and a projected $49 million operating loss for the fiscal year that just ended on Sept. 30.
CNE’s “plan to restore financial well-being to the health care system focuses in large part on the resolution of the ongoing losses at Memorial, which is not financially viable and is not projected to ever be viable,” the company said in a statement Thursday.
Care New England wrote that it intends to move Memorial Hospital clinical services to a community primary care focus, possibly in the outpatient area of the MHRI campus.
“The intended goal is to adjust care delivery to deliver the primary care services the community uses and requires. These services are expected to include a primary care-based practice, (family care and internal medicine centers), behavioral health and nutritional counseling and certain outpatient specialty consultation services. Depending upon the specific community needs, diabetic counseling and treatment may be added,” the application said.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
