PAWTUCKET — Mayor Donald R. Grebien, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and Central Falls Mayor James Diossa sent Care New England Health Services a Nov. 1 letter asking for a written proposal identifying which services will remain at Memorial Hospital as the nurse’s union says premature moves to close service are in motion.
“On Friday, Care New England officials notified Memorial Hospital medical staff that they were going to close the intensive care unit as of Monday. CNE has also instructed first responders not to transport patients to the Memorial emergency room and issued internal directives dramatically limiting the types of patients who may be admitted for care at the hospital,” wrote UNAP General Counsel Chris Callaci in a release on Monday.
Callaci forwarded a copy of the memo sent to Memorial staff, which warned away patients with suspected or diagnosed cardiovascular, neurological and pulmonary conditions from Memorial’s Emergency department.
Over the weekend, on Saturday, Nov. 11, Care New England informed all emergency medical providers, including the Pawtucket Fire Department, that due to the closure of the intensive care unit they would no longer be accepting patients “with a variety of emergency health needs” effective that day, according to Grebien’s office.
“This is a blatant and irresponsible attempt by Care New England to sidestep the reverse certificate of need process and begin shuttering Memorial Hospital before state regulators have authorized any such measures,” Callaci said.
“As part of the phased Plan of Closure, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Memorial Hospital has closed effective today. The closure of the ICU was determined to be in the best interest of patient care and was coordinated with the Department of Health,” Care New England said in a statement about the discontinued services.
“The ICU at Memorial has been averaging one to two patients a day and was not able to admit and care for the most critically ill patients normally cared for in an ICU due to limited availability of specialty physicians. In recent months, such critically ill patients have been appropriately diverted or transferred to other ICUs that were able to better meet their medical needs. Any patients remaining in the ICU as of today have been provided with care options at other ICUs or step-down facilities including Kent Hospital, a CNE facility, or an appropriate location of the patient’s choosing,” according to Care New England.
By early Monday morning, Grebien’s office reported CNE had yet to respond to their request for a formal plan, which set a Tuesday, Nov. 14 deadline for the information. Grebien was meeting with officers at Care New England Monday morning, but details from that meeting were not immediately available.
“On Wednesday, we discussed the importance of communication and having dialogue in advance in order to understand the overall impact and stability of CNE’s decisions that affect the community,” said Grebien in a statement Monday. “CNE committed to improving communication and advanced notification to the Department of Health as well as to the leaders within the communities. This communication will go a long way to building value with employees and the community at large as we go through this challenging process to understand their long-term plans and services for our communities.”
The letter was also forwarded to members of the Pawtucket City Council.
“It is our intent to do what is necessary to protect the health and welfare of our residents, to assist those who are losing their jobs, after committing themselves to helping others at Memorial Hospital and to provide for the economic well-being of our cities. To do so, we need the most up-to-date information about CNE’s plans for the hospital. We hope to get that information through the proposal we are seeking in the enclosed letter. If not, we are prepared to take action in the courts to bring in outside experts to assist us in this effort,” Grebien wrote in a cover letter to the council.
“At the request of the Governor and officials from the cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls,
Care New England said in its statement Monday that Memorial Hospital’s leadership is meeting regularly with other state and local leaders to ensure open dialogue, information sharing, and details on steps in the hospital’s closure. That includes a review and consideration of community-based primary and specialty care that may continue in Pawtucket after the hospital closes.
“We remain committed to our patients, Memorial colleagues, and the community as we continue to adapt to the shifting trends in health care and further our commitments to health care in this region and throughout the state,” said James E. Fanale, MD, executive vice president, chief operating officer, and chief clinical officer, Care New England. “Memorial Hospital is losing close to $2 million dollars each month that it continues to operate as an underutilized, full service hospital. While the decision to close the hospital is difficult, this will help us move the community in the best direction possible to better meet future health care needs and ensure the future viability of the larger health system and needs of the state.”
“We are continuing to review the situation and hope to work with local and state leaders to preserve critical services and jobs at Memorial Hospital for as long as possible,” Callaci said.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com
