Care New England will maintain up to 200 health-care jobs at family care and internal medicine facilities in Pawtucket following the expected closure of Memorial Hospital, prompting the withdrawal of a union lawsuit.
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Care New England will maintain up to 200 health-care jobs on Memorial Hospital's campus in outpatient care after the hospital's expected closure.
United Nurses and Allied Professionals Local 5082, which has been fighting the hospital's closure, announced the agreement with the health-care company on Monday. A lawsuit filed last week in Superior Court in an effort to preserve jobs has been withdrawn as a result of the agreement. Memorial Hospital employs 590 people.
"We are pleased that this agreement creates a tangible plan for the continuation of important healthcare services and jobs in Pawtucket and the Blackstone Valley," said Chris Callaci, UNAP general counsel. "Part of the agreement requires the parties to actively work with local officials in reaching out to the community to advance this model."
Care New England on Monday released its most detailed plans on what services will remain at the Memorial campus, including family care and internal medicine centers, which book 20,000 patient visits each year. In September, Care New England said it planned to shutter the unprofitable hospital after a sale fell through. The union had complained that the company initially didn't specify what services and jobs would remain.
"What this means is that they will continue to treat general medical needs and provide care for a vast array of non-emergency health conditions. For example, primary care providers treat acute medical conditions such as the common cold, sinus infections, stomach problems and skin rashes, but they also treat chronic health problems such as depression, asthma, high blood pressure and allergies," the plan states.
Related services such as X-rays, blood work and mammograms will also continue. The company hopes to contract for physical and occupational therapy services.
Other health-care services mentioned in the plan are subject to continued negotiations. For example, Care New England said it hopes to maintain some physician specialties such as pediatric neurodevelopment at the site, but that will be subject to retaining grant funding. Other specialties — such as oncology, cardiology and dermatology — could also remain, but physicians willing to contract to provide those services need to be identified. Plans for a walk-in clinic are also in development.
Dr. James E. Fanale, executive vice president of Care New England, credited the agreement to collaboration with the union, the governor's office and Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien.
"As we move forward with this plan, we do so with a patient- and community-centered focus demonstrating our commitment to the Blackstone Valley and health care throughout the entire state. This means we must adapt to the changes by moving towards the future of health care," Fanale said in a statement.
The state still needs to approve plans for Memorial's closure. No potential closing date has been disclosed.
The hospital lost $21.5 million in the most recent fiscal year. The Care New England hospital system lost $47 million collectively. The company remains in negotiations to sell the rest of its hospitals to Massachusetts-based Partners HealthCare
The plan for continued services at Memorial's campus cautions that "the proposed set of services requires vigilant attention to ensuring the set of services is cost-efficient, flexible and adaptable to changes in the competitive environment and not overly encumbered with mandates. If not, the risk of financial catastrophe remains."
— jbogdan@providencejournal.com
(401) 277-7493
On Twitter: @JenniferBogdan