‘Where are we going to go?’: Mass. DPH hears desperate pleas to keep Carney Hospital open

Hundreds of people showed up to a public hearing scheduled by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to share their concerns about the planned closure of Carney Hospital.

Steward Health Care said it still plans to close Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer because it’s received no qualified bids.

Steward also said it has reached an agreement to sell its nationwide physicians network to a private equity firm.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health said it is in the process of gathering public comment through Tuesday’s hearing in Dorchester, a virtual hearing on Wednesday, and a hearing scheduled in Devens on Thursday.

DPH did not respond directly to comments and questions at Tuesday’s hearing where dozens of people took the podium.

“Everybody in Boston is going to suffer because we’re going to be overloaded,” said Simone Smith with 1199 SEIU. “People are going to get hurt. Somebody is going to die because somebody didn’t get to them.”

Dr. Octavio Diaz, Chief Medical Officer and President of the North region in Massachusetts for Steward Health Care, said there was nothing that could be done to prevent Carney’s closure.

“While closing Carney Hospital is deeply regrettable, it’s also unavoidable. The process that brought us to this point is complex and involved many stakeholders over the course of many months,” said Dr. Diaz.

The explanation did not sit right with the more than 400 health care workers and thousands of patients who are impacted and aren’t ready to give up hope.

“It’s heartbreaking. Where are we going to go?,” questioned Janice Dooley, a patient and former employee. “Why doesn’t anybody care. Why doesn’t anybody do anything?”

The process of discharging and transferring patients from Carney is already underway.

Staff members have been contacting patients who have appointments scheduled after the planned closure on August 31st.

Patients told Boston 25 News that the closure will create a health care desert in Dorchester and will have a devastating impact on lower income, chronically ill patients.

Boston EMS is creating detailed plans to mitigate the impact of the closure in anticipation of prolonged transport times.

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