Carney Closure Means Loss Of Health Care “Cornerstone”

“The pain in that room was truly palpable,” Goldstein continued. “Carney Hospital has been a cornerstone of the Dorchester community, a trusted health care resource that has represented healing, comfort and hope for generations of residents of Boston and surrounding towns. Listening to the stories and the memories and hearing about the impact of the hospital on so many members of the community was moving and powerful — and it was sad.”

Council members are tasked with guiding DPH through policy decisions and can allow Goldstein to pursue “necessary actions” after a public health emergency has been declared. At Wednesday’s meeting, they did not ask the commissioner any questions about Steward and the company’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. Local officials in Boston and Ayer, where Steward also plans to close Nashoba Valley Medical Center, have recently pushed for emergency declarations in an attempt to keep the hospitals open.

Gov. Maura Healey has said she lacks the power to keep the Carney and Nashoba open, and has emphasized her administration’s efforts to safeguard Steward’s five remaining hospitals in Massachusetts. The Legislature has opted against intervening in any way.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Goldstein also addressed the state’s apparent helplessness to preserve the Carney.

“The Department of Public Health does not have the ability, nor the authority, to prevent or deny closure of the hospital. We cannot force a hospital to stay open, especially if doing so might risk the quality of care that’s delivered or the safety of the patients,” Goldstein said at the hearing, according to the Boston Herald.

Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, ruled out the possibility of city officials saving the Carney.

“As the city’s local health department, we cannot stop the closure of Carney Hospital and I’m sad to say that,” Ojikutu said at the hearing, according to the Herald. “Some have suggested we declare a public health emergency. Declaring a public health emergency will not give the city, Mayor Wu, or I, the regulatory authority, the licensure ability, and most importantly the money that it will take to run Carney Hospital even in the short term. So we will not be declaring a public health emergency.”

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn offered remarks that drew a standing ovation at the hearing, according to the Dorchester Reporter.

“I don’t accept the premise that the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can’t keep this hospital open,” Flynn said. “We have the ability to keep it open if we have the moral courage to keep it open. This is about public safety and, my friends, it’s also a civil rights issue.”

Dr. Octavio Diaz, president of Steward’s north region, said the Carney closure was “deeply regrettable, but also unavoidable.” Some people at the hearing jeered at Diaz, calling him “Judas” and saying “Shame on Steward,” according to the Dorchester Reporter.

During a radio interview Tuesday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called the pending Carney closure an “extremely dire situation,” but she also said declaring a public health emergency would not solve the problem.

“It’s tens of thousands of patient transports every single year to the emergency room there. Many, many more inpatient visits, outpatient treatment, and that location is a key access point for health care for the Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods,” Wu said on WBUR. “And we know residents go there from all across the city as well, not to mention the many workers who have devoted their whole careers and continue to care for patients — even as it became clear that their jobs were on the line, they have continued to put those patients first. So the impacts are extremely dire.”

Goldstein characterized the Carney as a “guardian of sorts” for the Dorchester community at the Public Health Council meeting.

The DPH is holding a virtual hearing on the Carney closure Wednesday night. For Nashoba, the DPH has scheduled a public hearing Thursday night in Devens, followed by a virtual hearing Monday.

“The stories there may be somewhat different than what we heard last night, but I know we will hear and feel that same sense of loss, the same sort of ripple effect that the closing of a local hospital has on so many aspects of a community,” Goldstein said of upcoming Nashoba hearings. “Beyond these two hospital closures, we continue to await the final determination regarding other Steward hospitals, which we expect, we hope, will transition to new operators.”

A postponed sales hearing on Steward hospitals is now scheduled for Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Steward officials have told the court they received binding bids for six Massachusetts hospitals, which include Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Saint Anne’s Hospital, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital-Haverhill, Holy Family Hospital- Methuen and Morton Hospital.

“Meanwhile, our role at DPH is to continue to work diligently with our health care and community partners to protect the health and wellbeing of patients and communities as hospitals close, as care shifts to new providers, and as facilities transition to new operators,” Goldstein said. “We will do everything in our power to safeguard access to critical medical care and services, to support the dedicated health care workers who have persevered through the uncertainty and continue to deliver great care, and to preserve the strength and the stability of the exceptional health care ecosystem that’s a hallmark of our commonwealth.”