BOSTON â Lawrence General Hospital doctors say they are worried about what will happen to patients if Holy Family Hospitals in Methuen or Haverhill close, but vowed to help as much as possible if needed.
Lawrence General’s Dr. Eduardo Haddad shared staff concerns with Gov. Maura Healey and the Public Health Council on Wednesday about the news surrounding Steward Health Care System’s Holy Family Hospitals in Methuen and Haverhill, while stressing his hospital’s commitment to support patients in need.
“We are indeed very worried about it,” said Haddad, who practices at Riverside Nephrology. “We at Lawrence General Hospital feel the pain of the community.”
Haddad said Lawrence General Hospital will do its best to support additional patients and increase its staff serving the Methuen and Haverhill Holy Family Hospitals patients.
“These folks would be left without a place to go if they were to close,” Haddad said. “There’s no lack of will on our part to take care of these patients.”
Healey and the Public Health Council addressed the Steward crisis Wednesday morning as part of the council’s regular monthly meeting.
“I know this is a situation of deep concern for all of us,” Healey said. “It is an urgent priority for me.”
Steward Health Care System owns nine facilities in the state, including the Holy Family Hospitals in the Merrimack Valley. Local, state and federal officials have raised concerns around possible closures, violations of Medicare rules and financial distress.
The for-profit hospital network announced on Feb. 2 it has no plans to close any of its Massachusetts hospitals.
Healey said she and her administration are focused on the health and safety of patients, job retention for nurses and staff as well as the “safety net” the hospitals create for the local communities.
“Many of these patients are among the most vulnerable in our state,” Healey said. “We are actively monitoring the quality of the care.”
The state has placed “monitors” at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Brighton, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and both of the Holy Family Hospital campuses, according to Robert Goldstein, the Massachusetts public health commissioner.
They are monitoring staffing, services, supplies and equipment to ensure communities are properly served, Goldstein said. This week, inspectors have been added to Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Morton Hospital in Taunton.
Goldstein said inspectors will be at all Steward Health Care System hospitals by next week.
“This is a situation that is enormously challenging and unsustainable,” Goldstein said.
Even still, Goldstein said the state has no interest in bailing out the private, for-profit group.
“Steward itself must address its significant financial challenges,” Goldstein said. “Right now we don’t know what Steward will do.”
Goldstein said the Department of Public Health is prepared for “many scenarios.” He noted Steward is “likely” to need to restructure or close some of its hospitals.
“The bottom line is at this time, we don’t know the future of Steward Health Care,” Goldstein said.
The state is in communication with the health care group as well as federal and local administrations. Goldstein said the main goals now are to protect patients and preserve the jobs of the “heroes” in the hospitals’ communities.
“This work is hard, but it is important,” Goldstein said. “We must do it right, and we must do it well.”
Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3
Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3
By Monica Sager | [email protected]
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