Critics rap health-care report
<http://www.gazettenet.com/01292002/health/10975.htm>
Associated Press, January 29, 2002
BOSTON (AP) - A long awaited review of the state's health care system falls short of confronting the financial challenges facing patients, hospitals and insurers, critics said Monday. The report recommends the state boost fiscal oversight of hospitals and insurers, lower health care expenses by steering patients away from costly emergency rooms, and increase Medicaid payments to hospitals and nursing homes. The report by the 49-member blue ribbon commission is too broad in some areas and too narrow in others, critics said. The report spends too much time looking at the needs of hospitals and HMOs, said Rob Restuccia, executive director of the advocacy group, Health Care for All. "As we think about challenges to hospitals, doctors and insurers, we also need to think about the challenges facing the uninsured and underinsured," Restuccia said. He also said the panel should have backed a 50 cents per pack increase in the cigarette tax to provide health insurance for the uninsured. The report is too timid when it comes to recommending higher Medicaid reimbursement, said Dr. Francis X. Rockett, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, a doctors' organization. "The crisis in physician services is real," Rockett said. "Anything short of bold, committed action is tantamount to throwing a life preserver to a few individuals while the Titanic is sinking." Julie Pinkham, head of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, chided the report's recommendation to "redesign" the nursing profession and said what's needed are more nurses. "For the past 10 years, we've been redesigned out into the streets," she said. "The more (nurses) we have at the bedside, the better the outcome for the patient population." ...
Local View: Bringing CareGroup to the table
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/opinion/colmccarthy01292002.htm>
Jeanette McCarthy, Councilor at large, Waltham Daily News Tribune, January 29, 2002
We are all concerned with the announced closing of the Deaconess-Waltham Hospital. Should it close, it will be a tremendous medical, personal, and financial loss to the patients, employees, doctors, and the Waltham community. I want to thank you, the other elected officials, the members of the coalition, the doctors, the staff, and the community members for their efforts to save the hospital. As you are aware, the first issue that I raised to you previously was that there had to be some written agreement between CareGroup, Inc. and the Waltham Hospital when they merged. I thought it was important to have a copy of this agreement because it would spell out the rights and responsibilities of both CareGoup, Inc. and the Waltham Hospital. It might also have given us some direction as to how to or how not to proceed. Your contacts at the Secretary of State's office have expedited my request to locate any public documents regarding the merger. There are two major assets involved: the "hospital community" itself and the hospital's real estate. CareGroup, Inc. "seems" to hold all of the cards. It is imperative, in my opinion, that all groups, i.e. elected officials, employees, coalition members, doctors, and the community work together to bring CareGroup, Inc. to the table. Who will bring CareGroup, Inc. to the table? What will bring CareGroup, Inc. to the table? What leverage, if any, does each of these groups have to bring CareGroup, Inc. to the table? ...
Council to relocate for hospital meeting
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/walthospitalcouncil01292002.htm>
Patrick Golden, Waltham Daily News Tribune, January 29, 2002
WALTHAM - The City Council last night continued to search for ways to save Deaconess-Waltham Hospital from closing, including a closed-door meeting to discuss potential legal maneuvers. Due to executive session rules, councilors are not allowed to divulge what was discussed, but did return to open session to tackle other issues related to the hospital. Among them, the council made an unprecedented move by voting to move the location of the opening of its Feb. 11 meeting to Waltham High School. The meeting falls on the same evening as the state Department of Public Health hearing on the hospital's proposed closing. Councilors said they don't want to miss that session. The City of Waltham Charter dictates that council meeting must be held on Monday at 8 pm, but research shows the charter does not dictate where the meeting must be held. While the council plans to open its Feb. 11 in the high school's Cannon Lecture Hall, no business will be conducted there. Plans call for the council to call the meeting to order, recess it, and reconvene later that evening at City Hall. ...
Students rally to support Waltham hospital
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/walthospitalstudents01292002.htm>
Waltham Daily News Tribune, January 29, 2002
The possible close of the Deaconess-Waltham Hospital has been met with anger by the city of Waltham and Waltham High School students. Students have offered their sympathies to the community institution and, in some cases, decided to take action. As loyal patients to the hospital, often for all of their lives, many students who attend the high school were shocked upon hearing the news that Deaconess-Waltham may shut its door in April. Most of the students had no idea that this fixture in the Waltham community could be shutting its doors in April. "I was kind of mad," junior Katherine Caporiccio said. "It seemed a little absurd that CareGroup would be unable to keep the hospital open. With 60,000 people living in Waltham, this is going to be very inconvenient." The hospital closing will not only become inconvenient for many, but it will also be very emotional for staff and patients, adults and students alike. The staff is well known in the Waltham community, and their patients will sorely miss the many doctors, nurses, and technicians, who will lose their jobs in April. For students who have frequently visited the hospital for various injuries, operations or appointments, the hospital staff has always given excellent care and left the patient with a very positive feeling. ...
Advocates: Hospitals must come clean
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/walthospitalhearing02042002.htm>
Michael Kunzelman, Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 4, 2002
BOSTON - A state-sponsored "early warning" system could help save hospitals like Deaconess-Waltham Hospital from financial ruin, a panel of doctors and public-health advocates are expected to testify tomorrow at the State House. State Sen. Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln, said the Legislature should compel private hospitals to "open up their books" and submit to a greater measure of government oversight. "There needs to be more state regulation of distressed hospitals," said Fargo, whose district includes Waltham. "It's a very acute problem." Fargo and state Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, are co-chairing tomorrow's oversight hearing of the joint Committee on Health Care. The imminent closing of Deaconess-Waltham Hospital is just the latest reminder that many community hospitals are in dire financial straits, said David Schildmeier, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association. "We hope to make a strong impression on policymakers that hospitals providing the level and quality of care that Waltham Hospital does should not be closed," Schildmeier added. Representatives of the MNA, the Massachusetts Hospital Association, the state Department of Public Health and CareGroup Health System are among the guests scheduled to testify tomorrow. Dr. Richard Lyons, chairman of the Coalition to Save Waltham Hospital, also has been invited to speak during the oversight hearing. ...
Emergency in Waltham
<http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/035/editorials/Emergency_in_Waltham+.shtml>
Boston Globe Editorial, February 4, 2002
MASSACHUSETTS CANNOT afford to lose another hospital. The state, the private health sector, and the City of Waltham ought to make every effort to save Deaconess-Waltham Hospital. The hospital has been running deficits for nine of the last 10 years. The CareGroup network, which is in deep financial trouble itself, waited too long before attempting to rid itself of a failing asset. Failure to act earlier may have put them beyond help. Yet the hospital's emergency room was responsible for 20,000 patient visits last year, and its 43 psychiatric beds are essential for the mental health needs of communities west of Boston. These services should not be lost. ...
For hospital network, lessons learned
<http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/hosp02042002.htm>
Jennifer Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, February 4, 2002
September brought huge relief to Hallmark Health officials - the hospital system made money for the first time in three years. After losing millions and chewing up half of its endowment, the sytem is in a position to begin rebuilding its reserves. It has been a long, difficult road that included hundreds of job cuts and the controversial decision to shut a hospital. Another Hallmark hospital slated to close was transferred to a different health care system. Those tough decisions ultimately saved Hallmark but left one community, Malden, with fewer health care services. And, a year later, the problems that created the turmoil in the first place still exist. The state has no planning mechanism to predict or prevent the failure of a hospital. Health care facilities are still being reimbursed below costs for Medicaid and Medicare patients and little has been done to strengthen the state's mental health system. Other hospitals are in jeopardy, including Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, slated to close in April. ...
Massachusetts Should Preserve Each Hospital
Needed to Protect the Health of Our People
<http://dcc2.bumc.bu.edu/hs/accessandaffordability.htm>
<http://www.state.ma.us/healthcare/pages/tf_30.htm>
Alan Sager, PhD and Deborah Socolar, MPH, Access and Affordability Monitoring Project
-- Health Reform Program, Boston University School of Public Health, February 5, 2002
We call on the governor to declare that any further hospital closings in Massachusetts would constitute a public health emergency, and that the commissioner of public health would act to prevent any such closings, backed by state funds, if needed.
At today's hospital closings oversight hearing of the state legislature's Health Care Committee, we are recommending six emergency, short-term, and middle-term actions that would put state government on top of this problem.
These include
- hospital receivership legislation,
- targeted state aid to needed hospitals, and
- state rate setting (which would put a floor under the revenues of weaker hospitals and a ceiling above the revenues of powerful hospitals).
The testimony is backed by evidence on the need for targeted aid to affordably protect needed hospitals, access considerations and the growing shortage of hospital beds, cost considerations and the importance of protecting lower-cost hospitals, and the failure of the market to identify and protect needed hospitals.
The testimony will be posted at <http://dcc2.bumc.bu.edu/hs/accessandaffordability.htm>. Also see Health Reform Program reports on prescription drug affordability and other national health policy issues, posted at <http://dcc2.bumc.bu.edu/hs/ushealthreform.htm>.
Disclaimer: As always, we write and speak only for ourselves, not on behalf of Boston University or any of its components.
MNA Testifies at State Oversight Hearings on Hospital Closings
Calls for State Action to Prevent Closings of Community Hospitals
In the wake of the threanted closure of Waltham Hospital, the Joint Committee on Health Care yesterday (February 5, 2002) held oversight hearings on the problem of failing hospitals and potential responses the state might make to address this growing crisis. The MNA was among the organizations invited to testify at this hearing to offer the organization's perspective on what should and might be done to protect our community hospitals. Below you will find the Testimony submitted by MNA President Karen Higgins (deliverd by MNA Associate Director Roslyn Feldberg as Karen is out of state this week) providing our specific recommendations and position on the issue. Also testifying were Joanne Bartoszewicz, RN, MNA local bargaining unit chair from Whidden Hospital in Everett, and Jeanine Hickey, RN, local bargaining unit chair from Hale Hospital in Haverhill.
The MNA proposed extending the period before a hospital could be closed from the current 90 days to at leas 180 days, called for a task force to evaluate troubled hospitals and to identify means of preventing their closure, and called for strengthening the power of the Attorney General, as has been done in other states, to allow greater oversight of hospital finances, the ability to stop a closure when it threatens the public health of a community, and the institution of a receivorship process similar to that in effect for HMO and insurance providers. Bartoszewicsz spoke about the process last year that resulted in Whidden Hospital avoiding closure through community and legislative action, and the support of Cambridge Health Alliance. She pointed to the effectiveness of CHA's ability to recognize and work with the MNA all through the process to ensure a smooth transition. Hickey told a different story about the trials of the Hale Hospital, which was purchased by Essent Health Care, a Tennessee-based for-profit provider, which refused to acknowledge or work closely with the MNA and other unions, leading to a troubled transition, that resulted in hundreds of nurses leaving the facility, which hampered that hospital's ability to function effectively following its conversion. As part of the MNA's testimony, Felberg suggested that the legislature institute a three-year moratorium on for-profit conversions by a provider after it has come into the Commonwealth to allow the state to monitor how well that for-profit entity meets its obligations to the communities it serves. Below you will find each piece of MNA testimony, as well as powerful testimony offered by Dr. Alan Sager, from the BU School of Public Health, who is a leading expert on hospital closures. He has called for the Governor to intervene to prevent any closings of community hospitals until it can be proven that such closings will not harm the public health of those communities.
Plan eyes rescue of ailing hospitals
A sweeping health care bill now in the works could empower the state to save struggling community hospitals - but not in time to help the 116-year-old Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, scheduled to shut its doors in April. With the majority of Massachusetts hospitals losing money, members of the Senate Health Care Committee yesterday warned that, without legislative action, the future could be filled with similarly jarring shutdowns all over the state. ''We know that about two-thirds of hospitals have been in red ink. Waltham is immediate, but there are others that could crop up any day,'' said Senator Richard T. Moore, an Uxbridge Democrat, who chairs the committee. Supporters of the hospital crowded the hearing hall yesterday and presented Acting Governor Jane Swift with petitions containing 14,000 signatures asking for immediate help from the state. But lawmakers were preoccupied with the next Waltham. ''There's no question that there are many hospitals on that list [of those nearing closure],'' Assistant Attorney General Dean Richlin told the committee. Lawmakers have been exploring whether the attorney general has the authority to intervene in hospital closure cases, concluding the office largely has no power in such matters. But the new bill might change that. The measure, which Moore plans to introduce within the next two weeks, would allow the state Department of Public Health to monitor a hospital's books, allow the attorney general to monitor all hospital business dealings, and permit the state to take over hospitals in danger of closing. ...
Editorial: Good things happening for our hospital
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/opinion/edt02072002.htm>
Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 7, 2002
The activity set off in Waltham by the threatened closing of our hospital is rippling throughout the state and nation. It's heartening to think that the illogic of closing our hospital could prompt overdue attendance to issues that threaten health care in our state and nation, but we can't wait for long-term schemes. Governor Swift: Waltham hospital needs distressed hospital funds now. Health Commissioner Howard Koh: Acknowledge the obvious - This hospital is vital to the health care of Waltham and surrounding communities. Closure of an emergency room that treats 20,000 patients per year confounds the imagination. There are good people working to find ways to keep it open. Grant them the time that CareGroup didn't. Reject CareGroup's closure plan. Legislators: Pass the home rule petition to mandate 270 rather than 90, of which just 60 days remain before closure. This is the time needed to pull together an entity to run the hospital. President Bush, Senators and Congressmen: Our mayor's suggestion that there is no higher use for homeland security funds than to keep open the community hospitals that will treat our people in time of crisis has great merit. Take heart, hospital personnel, you are supported by a deep vein of caring in the community which you have cared for so long. ...
Patients fear loss of sanctuary
It has been less than a year since the Mary Eagan Memorial Garden was opened at Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, providing cancer patients a place to sit outside among flowering shrubs and listen to bubbling fountains, escaping for a moment the pains and pressures of their illness. Right now, the chilly New England weather has placed a temporary veil over this sanctuary: The garden's pond is empty for the winter, and patches of snow cover the benches. But if the hospital closes in April as planned, it may not come to life again for the patients for whom it was built. Terry Eagan hopes that the garden, dedicated to his late wife, will bloom once again in the spring and provide a haven for cancer patients. He can't even imagine telling his four children that ''Ma's garden'' will be closed. Eagan said he was heartbroken when CareGroup, the health network that owns Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, decided to close the financially ailing hospital last month. But he remains hopeful that a last-minute deal will be reached to resuscitate the hospital and its cancer-treatment program, referred to in brochures as Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Care at Waltham. (A public hearing about the closure is scheduled for Feb. 11.) ...
Speaker targets raid on Medicaid
<http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/finn02082002.htm>
Elisabeth J. Beardsley, Boston Herald, February 8, 2002
Thousands of poor families could face jacked-up health care costs - or even lose their insurance - under sweeping Medicaid reforms being pushed by House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran. Finneran told the Herald yesterday that the House, in its upcoming budget debate, would try to rein in runaway costs at the $5 billion program, which he dubbed a ³budget buster.² ³You can't hold onto this as if it's biblical and say, `right to the end,'² Finneran said. ³Quite frankly, that's what you're going to do - you're going to hasten the end of an awful lot of other things.² Medicaid costs have ballooned at double-digit rates in recent years, largely driven by the state's aggressive efforts to reduce the number of uninsured. About 1 million Bay State residents - including all children under age 18 - are now eligible for Medicaid, which is also known as ³MassHealth.² Between 300,000 and 600,000 people remain uninsured. ...
Gately earmarks $2M for hospital: Waltham mayor
wants state to match funds; developer offers help
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/walthospital02082002.htm>
Patrick Golden, Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 8, 2002
WALTHAM - Mayor David Gately has asked the City Council to approve a $2 million grant for Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, but only if the state matches the contribution. Another bid to save the hospital from closing has come from a local developer who told city and hospital officials he's willing to make a significant financial investment, allegedly $2 million, toward keeping the hospital open, according to a hospital official. But state officials cautioned getting the Legislature and governor to agree to a $2 million match is a shaky proposition. "We are being pro-active in stepping forward with creative financing to save the community's hospital," said Gately. The mayor wants to transfer about $1.2 million from unreserved funds and another $800,000 from accounts designated for undeveloped land acquisition, community and historical site preservation. "There will be no expenditure of any city funds without a match from the state," said Gately. ...
BI rolls out recovery plan: Hospital will add surgery, rent space
<http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/hosp02082002.htm>
Jennifer Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, February 8, 2002
Boston teaching hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center plans to beef up its surgery department, rent out space and work more closely with community doctors to draw more referrals as part of a plan to end millions in losses by 2004. The hospital giant's implementation of its recovery plan, detailed yesterday, will be monitored on a weekly basis by Attorney General Tom Reilly under an unusual oversight agreement signed in December. Reilly's staff began weekly checkups on the hospital's health at that time. If the recovery plan works, hospital executives hope to go from an operational loss of $58.5 million last year to a gain of $1 million in 2004. ³The key is that we're going to persist and sustain ourselves as an academic medical center,² said Paul Levy, chief executive. ³The mix of clinical care and research is important for us and for the community.² BI Deaconess's recovery plan is based on recommendations from the Hunter Group, a consulting firm hired last year. It will be submitted to the hospital's parent company, CareGroup Inc. The plan doesn't include Hunter recommendations to cut nurses, which are needed at bedsides to maintain top-quality care, Levy said. Also rejected is Hunter's call for cutbacks in doctor training programs. Hospital officials disagreed that cutting residents would save money. Finally, the hospital rejected changes in its psychiatric programs. Hunter called for slimmed-down programs focused on older patients. ...
Soldiers Home cuts under way
<http://www.masslive.com/springfield/unionnews/index.ssf?/news/pstories/ho29sold.html>
Natalia E. Arbulú, Springfield Union-News, February 9, 2002
HOLYOKE ‹ A bill that would give the Soldiers Home much-needed funds has failed to leave the House of Representatives, forcing facility administrators to proceed with the delayed layoffs of 52 employees. The staff reductions began yesterday. The action comes two weeks after acting Gov. Jane M. Swift placed a moratorium on the layoffs with hope the Legislature would be able to come up with funds for the facility. The House Ways and Means Committee on Jan. 14 approved a $240 million supplemental budget bill with $350,000 for the home, but the legislation is stalled because of the recession. "Absent an economic recovery, the bill is on life support," said Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee. "We're going to be very hard-pressed to move forward with the supplemental budget," said Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati, D-Ludlow. "The budget hole is getting deeper." Wagner and Petrolati pointed out that lawmakers are projecting a $2 billion deficit in the state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The budget gap is growing because of tax collections that are down substantially from last year. ...
A chance to be heard on hospital
Tomorrow will bring what many employees and advocates of Deaconess-Waltham Hospital have been waiting for: a public hearing on plans to close the 116-year-old insitution. But unless government funding is obtained to keep the hospital operating or a new owner steps forward, the hearing might only provide a soapbox for people who want to save it. Officials from CareGroup, the health care network that owns Deaconess-Waltham and other Boston area hospitals, are expected to present their closing plans at the hearing. Barring a last-minute sale of the hospital, CareGroup expects to close it ''on or about'' April 11. Essent Healthcare, a small for-profit hospital chain based in Nashville, has submitted a proposal to purchase Deaconess-Waltham. David Spackman, a local lawyer representing Essent, declined to comment on the proposal or the status of any negotiations. City officials have said they might provide financial aid to the hospital if the state does. However, both the city and state have tight budgets, and $10 million of the state's distressed-hospital fund has been frozen, according to Richard McGreal, spokesman for the state Division of Medical Assistance. That leaves $5 million available in the fund, and Deaconess-Waltham Hospital would have to apply for aid in the next few weeks, along with any other cash-strapped hospitals in the state, McGreal said. Howard Koh, the state public health commissioner, will preside at the hearing, scheduled for 6 pm tomorrow at Waltham High School. ...
Suitor rejects Waltham hospital
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/walthospital02112002.htm>
Michelle Hillman, Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 11, 2002
WALTHAM - Essent Healthcare will not strike a deal to rescue Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, dashing one of the last viable options to keep the hospital open. All is not lost, say hospital doctors and members of the Coalition to Save Waltham Hospital, who are working on alternatives to keep the hospital open. For-profit Essent Healthcare of Tennessee was reportedly interested in buying the ailing hospital, but ultimately decided the hospital's losses, debt, declining patient volume and the need for costly upgrades are too much for the company to finance. David Spackman, a Boston lawyer representing Essent, said the company did its best to try reach an agreement with the hospital's owner, CareGroup, but Deaconess-Waltham's problems proved too great. According to CareGroup, this year the hospital anticipated losing $8 million and in the last year posted an operating loss of $9 million. There has also been a 25 percent decline in patients since 1992. ...
As hearing is held, hospital group sees hope
<http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/hosp02112002.htm>
Jennifer Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, February 11, 2002
Deaconess-Waltham Hospital doctors, staff and Waltham community leaders are hopeful they can come up with a plan to save the hospital despite a public hearing tonight on closing the 163-bed facility. The group banded together within days of the announcement that the hospital would be closed in April and say they expect to soon unveil their proposal to keep it open. The state Department of Public Health will have a public hearing tonight at Waltham High School on the plans of the hospital's parent company, CareGroup Inc., to close the facility. The hearing is to determine what services at the hospital should be deemed essential. CareGroup officials must then develop a plan to provide for those services. But the coalition dedicated to saving the hospital hopes to find a way to keep it going at least long enough to find another partner. Raising hopes, Essent Healthcare Inc. briefly looked at a deal to buy Deaconess-Waltham. But on Friday, the Tennessee-based for-profit, in a joint announcement with CareGroup, said it had terminated its discussions. Nevertheless, the group won a victory last week when Waltham Mayor David Gately said he would look at using $2 million in city money to help the ailing hospital, subject to the state pitching in a matching amount. ...
Court strikes down state rate regulations for temporary nursing
<http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/ap_sjc02112002.htm>
Associated Press, February 11, 2002
The Supreme Judicial Court on Monday struck down state regulations for agencies that supply temporary nurses to hospitals and nursing homes, saying the rules were too broad and didn't adhere to state law. The ruling is a victory for temporary nursing agencies, which last summer challenged the rate-setting rules established by the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy. ³We think this is good for the people who provide temporary nursing services and for temporary nursing agencies, and therefore for health care generally in the Commonwealth,² said Daniel L. Goldberg, an attorney for the company and two trade groups that challenged the rules. The now-invalidated rules were the result of a lawsuit filed in 2000 by the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation, a trade group of nursing homes, to force the division to regulate how much temporary nursing groups could charge. ...
Soldiers Home may cut outpatient services to cover $1 million shortfall
<http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/ap_sold02112002.htm>
Associated Press, February 11, 2002
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Officials at the cash-strapped state Soldiers Home in Holyoke may cut outpatient services to help cover a $1 million deficit that's already claimed 52 jobs and forced the closing of a 41-bed ward. The outpatient clinic that serves about 4,500 veterans may eliminate its dental and pharmacy programs to save about $309,000, Soldiers Home Superintendent Paul Morin said Monday. ³If we have to make further reductions, that's where we'll make them,² Morin said. The outpatient pharmacy program fills prescriptions at a cut rate for veterans. Dental services come at no cost to the patients. A bill that would give the Soldiers Home about $350,000 in relief has stalled in the House of Representatives. The measure is attached to a $226 million supplemental spending bill that was approved by the Ways and Means Committee last month, but has stalled in the House. ³If that supplemental budget came through, it would at least be a savior to our outpatient services,² Morin said. ...
School nurses rally against cuts
<http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/framnurses02122002.htm Business Today>
Michael Kunzelman, MetroWest Daily News, February 12, 2002
BOSTON - Last week was a particularly hectic one for school nurses in Framingham, as a student and a teacher suffered allergic attacks which could have killed them. "Both of them are fine, thanks to the quick action of their school nurse," Marcia Buckminster, the health director for the Framingham public schools, told a gathering of school nurses at the State House yesterday. Dozens of school nurses from across the state traveled to Boston to urge lawmakers to protect the School Nursing Services Collaborative grant program from the state's looming budget cuts. More than 100 school districts, including Framingham, Natick, Ashland and Holliston, rely on the state Department of Public Health grant program to pay nurses' salaries. Jane Williams, supervisor of health services for the Natick public schools, said the program pays for four part-time nurses. "Part-time nurses have allowed for full-time coverage in the schools," Williams said. " It has made a big difference and lets us serve students in a more efficient manner." The program, created in 1996, was facing deep cuts in the state budget in November, when acting Gov. Jane Swift threatened to cut about 60 percent of its funding, leaving an estimated 350 school nurses in danger of losing their jobs. Swift ultimately backed away from that plan. Now, in her budget plan for fiscal 2003, which starts July 1, Swift is calling for the program to be funded at the same level as the current fiscal year. "We understand the fiscal crisis the state is in," said David Schildmeier, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association. "In this environment, we would be very happy with that." ...
DPH Public Hearing on Waltham Hospital Closing Draws Standing
Room Only Crowd Community Rises Up in Support of Hospital
<http://www.massnurses.org/News/waltham/hearingnewscover.html>
The Waltham High School auditorium was full to overflowing last night (February 11, 2001), while police in the streets were turning away hundreds more who were attempting to attend a public hearing held by the Department of Public Health for Deaconess Waltham Hospital. More than 90 people spoke at the hearing, making the case for Waltham Hospital to remain open as a vital health care safety net for Waltham and surrounding communities. Below you will find articles from the media concerning this event. The Coalition to Save Waltham Hospital has been working since Jan. 11th to convince the state and Care(less) Group to work with concerned citizens, employees, physicians and nurses to keep the facility open. Unimpeachable evidence was presented last night detailing the devastation this closing would cause in the form of increased ER diversions at surrounding hospitals, the loss of vital psychiatric services, and the loss of access to necessary medical services for thousands of Waltham citizens. The Coalition to Save Waltham Hospital (of which MNA is a founding member) has since incorporated as non-profit organization and is prepared to take over the hospital as an independent community hospital. The City of Waltham has offered $2 million in funding if the state will match another $2 million and a local developer has pledged significant funds to augment this amount. The Coalition is urging the state to assist in providing funding and in working with the coalition to convince CareGroup to negotiate in good faith over the transfer of the hospital. At last night's hearing, pleas were made to the DPH Commissioner Howard Koh and Department of Mental Health Commissioner MaryLou Sudders to work within the administration to ensure Waltham Hospital is saved. Supporters are also urging the Attorney General's office to get involved to use his influence to work with the parties to save the hospital.
If you want to help this effort, call Attorney General Thomas Reilly at 617-727-2200 and tell him you want him to take a strong stand and to use his power to help save this hospital.
Hospital hearing draws crowd: Activist calling on gov to declare health crisis
<http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/hosp02122002.htm>
Jennifer Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, February 12, 2002
More than 1,000 doctors, nurses, residents and community leaders packed a public hearing at Waltham's high school last night, armed with signs and stories of saved lives that they hoped will help them save their hospital. Deaconess-Waltham Hospital is slated to close in April. CareGroup Inc.'s plan to shutter the community hospital has touched off a fight to preserve not just local health care services but a way of life for Waltham, say some of the 1,200 people who work at the 163-bed institution. ³We are a committed group who have spent our lives caring for each other and taking care of our community,² said Patricia Camuti, a nurse at the hospital for 30 years. ³It's an incredible thing that I don't think every hospital has.² John Hamill, chairman of CareGroup's board, was booed when he spoke last night. ³I recognize the emotion, because I'm emotional too,² he said. ³This is an issue we struggled with for well over a year.² The hospital handles 20,000 emergency room visits a year that other area hospitals would have to absorb. And it runs one of the state's few psychiatric wards. But fewer patients are coming to Waltham, and the hospital is on track to lose up to $9 million this year. CareGroup said it had tried to find other solutions - including a sale of the hospital - but could not. ...
Residents vent frustrations at hearing
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/walthospitalfrustration02122002.htm>
Shanley Stern, Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 12, 2002
WALTHAM - Over a five-hour span last night, scores of area residents lined up at a public hearing to plead for the survival of the Deaconess-Waltham Hospital. Although no decision could be handed down last night by a panel of state Department of Public Health officials, officials and residents charged Commissioner Howard Koh and Mental Health Commissioner May Lou Sudders to utilize their clout and stop the state's growing health-care crisis from devouring Waltham's only community hospital. "We need help, is there anyone out there listening to us?" said Ellie LeBlanc, one of 87 residents to speak in the packed auditorium. "We should be adding hospitals, not shutting them down. It's not right to close hospitals at the expense of people's lives." CareGroup, Deaconess-Waltham's parent company, announced its intent to close the hospital a month ago, citing a projected loss for 2002 of $8 million and an outstanding debt totaling more than $24 million. "At the end of the day, the cash we had has run out," said John Hamill, chairman of the CareGroup Board of Trustees. Public health officials were responsible for collecting evidence on effects of closing the hospital and the Coalition to Save Waltham Hospital made sure there was no shortage. From staff doctors and area doctors to emergency medical services personnel, fire and police representatives, all argued a closing would force prolonged ambulance response time, additional overcrowding of nearby emergency rooms and the loss of critical mental health beds. Kevin Prendergast, a representative of the American Medical Response, said currently it takes 40 minutes to complete a call for an area ambulance from beginning to end. He said if the hospital closes, completion will skyrocket to over two hours. According to Dr. Richard Lyons, who heads to the emergency room in Waltham, neighboring hospitals such as Newton-Wellesley and Mount Auburn are expecting to receive an additional 10,000 patients for emergency services when Deaconess-Waltham closes. That would be a 28 percent hike from current numbers. "This is at best a bad decision and at worst a reckless decision," Lyons said. "Managed care has taken the heart and soul out of our hospital." ...
CareGroup plans given cool reception
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/walthospital02122002.htm>
Patrick Golden, Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 12, 2002
WALTHAM - CareGroup Board of Trustees Chairman John Hamill last night explained to, but didn't convince, an emotional audience of 1,000 why the financially strapped health care network can't afford to keep Deaconess-Waltham Hospital from closing in April. Before a turn-away crowd in Waltham High School's Robinson Auditorium, Hamill reiterated CareGroup's stance that the hospital has continued to suck up far more cash than it produces and doesn't attract the patient volume it once did. He also asserted CareGroup had made a concerted effort to remedy the hospital's woes before deciding to close its doors. "This has been an issue that we have struggled with for well over a year," Hamill said. When the chairman of CareGroup Board of Trustees was introduced, some hospital sympathizers jeered him, but state Department of Mental Health Commissioner Marylou Sudders, who moderated the beginning of the hearing, called for civility. In response, the crowd accorded him polite applause. Hamill repeated CareGroup's contention Deaconess-Waltham is out of cash and has posted substantial operating losses during the last 10 years, including $20 million from 1998-2000 and a projected $8 million this year. The hospital is losing between $800,000 and $1 million per month, and needs to borrow from other CareGroup hospitals to survive, he said. The board chairman also said CareGroup made several attempts to help save the hospital, including investing $5 million in the new cancer center, applying to the state for distressed hospital funds, shopping Deaconess-Waltham around to other health care networks, and turning it into a behavioral health specialty hospital. ...
Hundreds protest hospital's closing
WALTHAM - If the fate of Deaconess-Waltham Hospital could be decided by people like 83-year-old Jeanne Saunders, instead of the volatile forces of the health care market, the outcome would never be in doubt. Saunders, a Weston resident, has been treated for three heart attacks at the community hospital and says she owes her life to its staff. ''I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Waltham Hospital,'' said Saunders, gripping a cane and a pair of gloves outside Waltham High School's auditorium. ''This is my hospital. This is a community hospital. To take it away would be a crime.'' Saunders was among the overflow crowd of more than 1,200 area residents and hospital staff who packed a state Department of Public Health hearing last night. Commissioner Howard Koh called the mandatory meeting to give residents a chance to comment on CareGroup Healthcare System's plan to close the 116-year-old hospital in April. ''We live here, and you never know when you're going to have an emergency,'' said Eddy Wong, 42, of Waltham, explaining why he brought his 18-month-old daughter Michelle to the forum. Nearly 90 people signed up to give testimony. ...
Area elders caught in middle as hospital drops health plan
<http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/045/south/Area_elders_caught_in_middle_as_hospital_drops_health_plan+.shtml>
Emily Shartin, Boston Globe, February 14, 2002
PLYMOUTH - Donna Reske cannot afford to lose her health-care coverage. Living with cancer, diabetes and a lung condition, the Plymouth resident is receiving ongoing treatment at Jordan Hospital. So when she learned a few weeks ago that the hospital would no longer be accepting her insurance plan, Blue Care 65, which serves 40,000 senior citizens statewide, she was concerned. ''At first I was really upset because I thought, `What are they doing to us elders?''' she said. Her reaction was shared by many of the 1,400 Plymouth area residents who subscribe to Blue Care 65, one of two senior plans offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield. After Jordan Hospital and Blue Cross failed to negotiate an agreement to continue coverage under Blue Care 65, the hospital's customers recently learned that to receive similar levels of service they would have to travel as far as Weymouth or Brockton to see a doctor, or switch to a different health-care plan. ...
Mental coverage has most complaints
During the first year of the state's new patient bill of rights, consumers complained most often about mental health coverage, asking state officials to overturn health plan denials for treatment by out-of-network therapists and hospital stays for drug abuse and depression. The law allows consumers to challenge health plan decisions before independent state reviewers after first exhausting appeals to their insurance companies. Consumers requested state reviews 137 times last year, including 35 mental health appeals, by far the largest category. The state's top three health and insurance officials said yesterday that they are concerned about the frequency of mental health complaints, which also surfaced during separate state reviews of internal health plan grievance files and calls to a state health care ombudsman. They plan to issue a letter to insurers in the next few days, an unusual step for three commissioners to take together, outlining their concerns about consumers frustrated over mental health care. ''We really want to get the message across that we see challenges they need to open their eyes to,'' said Nancy Ridley, assistant commissioner of public health. ''It's a wake-up call to managed care organizations about the problems we're seeing.'' In the letter, officials plan to outline the requirements for mental health networks, including therapists who can treat all age groups and types of illnesses; a sufficient number of therapists so patients do not have to wait days for appointments; and making sure that listed providers actually are taking new patients. Another issue, Ridley said, is that the state's nonprofit health insurers are increasingly hiring for-profit companies to administer mental health benefits to their members. Of the state's three largest health plans, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Massachusetts contracts with Magellan Behavioral Health, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care last year hired Value Options; Tufts Health Plan does not use an outside company. ''When you delegate something you're still responsible for it,'' Ridley said. ''Sometimes it's out of sight, out of mind.'' ...
Developer could save hospital: Sources say Roy MacDowell could also help City Council loan plan
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/walthospital202142002.htm>
Patrick Golden, Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 14, 2002
WALTHAM - The developer who built Cronin's Landing, the cornerstone of downtown Waltham's rebirth, has a plan to save Deaconess-Waltham Hospital, according to sources who asked that their names not be used. Roy MacDowell's plan would involve building a housing project with hundreds of apartments next to Deaconess-Waltham on 5 acres which are now used for parking, the sources said. A parking garage would replace the spaces lost to development, the sources said. Under the plan, MacDowell would contribute $8 million to the hospital to keep it open. He would raise another $10 to $12 million to help it sever its ties with CareGroup, the corporation that one month ago, said it would close the hospital in mid-April. Through a secretary, MacDowell said he had no comment, but he attended Monday's City Council meeting, where the council debated helping the hospital financially. Five separate sources said yesterday that MacDowell has a plan to save the hospital and build housing next to it. One source put the number of apartments at 300, while the others would only speculate that any development would have to have hundreds of units to make the deal work financially. MacDowell's plan could also help Mayor David Gately and the City Council overcome legal hurdles to their decision Monday to loan the hospital $2 million. State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Newton, received word this week from the House of Representatives Counsel's Office that the proposed home rule legislation on the loan may conflict with the state constitution. ...
Sheets: Hang in there, Waltham
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/opinion/colsheets02142002.htm>
James Sheets, Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 14, 2002
I would like to tell each and every citizen of the City of Waltham that I, and many others, continue to watch with great interest as you and Waltham hospital's medical staff, employees and community friends fight to keep your community hospital open and secure for current and future generations. Having led the successful fight to save my own city's community hospital, I know the hardships you are dealing with and the emotional peaks and valleys you probably experience on a daily basis. I offer this in the way of advice: Hang in there, fight hard and constantly remind yourself why this hospital is important to you and your community. With 282 beds, Quincy Hospital, which was founded privately in 1890, turned into a municipal hospital in 1919, and returned to private management under city control in 1981, was more than $60 million in debt and in 1999 had lost money for five consecutive years; $11 million in 1998 alone. When it was announced that the hospital would have to close in the face of such massive financial shortfalls, the community of Quincy rallied and lobbied the State legislature hard for a $12 million state aid package and a $32 million local commitment to aid a planned merger with Boston Medical Center. The reason the citizens of Quincy were able to come together so quickly is because, like you, we immediately realized how important a hospital was to our community. Quincy Hospital serves large numbers of elderly and indigent patients, two populations that would have difficulty traveling even short distances to get care. Also, with 1,000 employees, Quincy Hospital is a major employer on the South Shore. If you layoff those people, you lose their purchasing power, and given the number of businesses that would have been affected, a major negative economic impact was a real possibility. ...
Swift: No 'magic bullet' for hospital
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/swifthospital02152002.htm>
Michael Kunzelman, Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 15, 2002
Giving emergency state aid to Deaconess-Waltham Hospital isn't wise if it merely delays the hospital's closing, acting Gov. Jane Swift said yesterday. Swift, during a meeting with MetroWest Daily News editors, suggested that it remains unclear whether the Waltham hospital should receive any money from the state's distressed-hospital fund. "Our responsibility in utilizing the distressed-hospital fund is to do it in such a way that we don't prolong the inevitable, but that we contribute to a turnaround plan that's viable," Swift said yesterday. Earlier this week, Swift met with hospital and local officials to discuss their efforts to prevent Deaconess-Waltham from closing. Swift said she sees "new life" in a developer's plan to save the hospital by raising $12 million in funding to keep the hospital afloat and to build a large apartment complex next to the facility. "But the state will participate (only) if there is a financially viable way to keep the facility operating," she added. ...
Hospital's loss means colleges could lose critical services for students
<http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/walthospital02152002.htm>
Shanley Stern, Waltham Daily News Tribune, February 15, 2002
WALTHAM - When Brandeis University administrators decided to get rid of their infirmary, they banked on Deaconess-Waltham Hospital always being there. Since the infirmary services closed several years ago, Brandeis students have been relying on the emergency and outpatient services at the Waltham hospital because of its close proximity to the university, said Michal Regunberg, vice president for public affairs. "It matters to us," Regunberg said. "I think it will be an inconvenience at best, if not worse if the hospital closes." Apart from the 150 students transported by ambulance to the hospital in 2001 and 173 in 2000, Regunberg said students use the outpatient and emergency room services regularly. ...
Developer eyes Waltham hospital
<http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/hosp02162002.htm>
Jennifer Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, February 16, 2002
A Waltham developer has pledged $8 million of his own money and offered to help raise an additional $10 million to help save Deaconess-Waltham Hospital under a plan that has caught the attention of owner CareGroup Inc. Roy MacDowell, a developer credited with reviving the city's downtown, said he would put up the money in exchange for the hospital property. He plans to use some of the land for apartments, while leasing back the hospital. ³It's not the best real estate deal I've ever done, but it's justifiable to save the hospital,² said MacDowell. He was born at the suburban hospital, where about 1,200 people work. CareGroup plans to close the 163-bed operation in April because of annual losses that have mounted to about $9 million. But doctors, community leaders and others have argued to keep it open. MacDowell's plan, proposed to CareGroup by the Coalition to Save Waltham Hospital, includes raising money from the city and state and setting up a clinical partnership with New England Medical Center. CareGroup and the coalition plan to hire a turnaround consultant to spend the next two weeks evaluating whether the hospital can be saved and what it will take. ...
City maps hospital options
With time running out on efforts to resuscitate Deaconess-Waltham Hospital before its scheduled April closing, Waltham city officials are digging out their roadmaps and struggling to come up with a way to get its 22,000 emergency patients a year into other emergency rooms. Waltham residents assured of being whisked by ambulance to the Deaconess-Waltham ER in the average five minutes will have to ride twice as long, for instance, to get to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, according to city statistics. Emergency responses could become more complicated if area hospitals are forced to use ''diversions,'' that is close their doors to additional emergency patients, because of crowded conditions, exacerbated by Deaconess-Waltham's overflow. City officials got some real-life experience with the problem last Tuesday, when the emergency room at Deaconess-Waltham was temporarily closed for 16 hours because every bed was full. City officials say they may increase the number of vehicles on hand. The city now has two ambulances on contract to make emergency runs. ...
Public Hearings for the Advisory Committee
on Consolidated Health Care Financing
<http://www.masscare.org>