With Massachusetts set to lose two hospitals, one will return in Brockton: ‘A substantial difference’

With Massachusetts about to lose two hospitals, one healthcare facility is set to come back to life, a development officials say is much needed given the doom and gloom caused by Steward.

Brockton Hospital, owned by Signature Healthcare, is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, more than a year and a half after an unprecedented, 10-alarm fire destroyed much of the facility’s electric wiring and forced it to close.

The return, previously delayed due to supply chain issues and heating and air conditioning system upgrades, comes as bankrupt Steward Health Care has gotten the OK to close Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer by the end of the month.

“It will be very helpful to get Brockton back online,” Massachusetts Nurses Association President Katie Murphy said in a statement to the Herald. “But as the state benefits from the addition of Brockton, it needs to act immediately to prevent the closure of Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center.”

“The bottom line is we can’t afford to lose any beds, services, and certainly not two entire hospitals,” she added. “To allow that to happen will just create further chaos and endanger the lives of too many patients.

When Brockton Hospital opens for the first time since Feb. 7, 2023 patients will walk into a remodeled and renovated facility that includes a new 12-unit behavioral health triage unit, an outpatient surgical center and a main lobby extension.

“The 10-alarm fire in February 2023 left a significant void in the area’s healthcare system,” Mayor Robert Sullivan said in a statement, “and the hospital coming back online will make a substantial difference.”

Though the vast majority of the hospital’s services – including the emergency department – will return upon the reopening, the maternity, pediatric and behavioral health units will remain closed, according to officials. They did not indicate when those offerings would be brought back.

The fire broke out in a hospital electrical equipment room and climbed to an unprecedented 10 alarms. Roughly 160 patients were safely evacuated and either discharged or taken to other medical facilities in the area that February morning.

Officials had to power down the hospital’s utility power and emergency generators, computer systems, elevators, phones, medical devices and lights amid the fire. No injuries were reported.

Steward-owned Good Samaritan Medical Center and other area hospitals grappled with the Brockton Hospital closure which exacerbated capacity challenges even further. Norwood Hospital, owned by the bankrupt Dallas-based healthcare company, remains shuttered since a devastating flood in June 2020.

“Hospital capacity constraints are tight everywhere throughout Massachusetts, but especially in the southeast part of the state,” a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association told the Herald. “We are hopeful that the reopening of services at Signature Brockton will help alleviate some of those pressures and improve overall access in Southeast Mass.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous post Tomato season has arrived. Here are five dishes in which they are the star
Next post Zeynep Tufekci: Google exemplifies the lack of competition in the tech world