BOSTON (WHDH) – With frustrations mounting over the closure of Carney Hospital at the end of August, the Boston City Council adopted a resolution Wednesday calling for a public health emergency and applying new pressure on the state to protect patient care.
The resolution, led by Councilors John FitzGerald and Ed Flynn, marks the latest attempt to stave off bankrupt Steward Health Care’s plan to shutter the Dorchester hospital, after they rallied at State House last week seeking urgent help from the Healey administration. It calls on the city and Boston Public Health Commission to declare a public health emergency due to the closure and to “take all possible steps necessary to preserve the operations of Carney Hospital, and ensure that Steward is following all state and local laws.”
“We need to create the environment, both politically and financially, where keeping Carney open becomes the best options for all sides of this fiasco,” FitzGerald said during a City Council meeting Wednesday. “And we will not throw in the towel yet until we have exhausted all of our options.”
Twelve councilors voted in favor of the resolution. Council Tania Fernandes Anderson voted “present,” saying she wanted more time to speak about the measure.
The resolution also urges the city and state government “to be prepared that if there are no bidders for Carney hospital, to seize the property by eminent domain and to continue to operate the facility until a permanent operator is found.”
Steward has said it got no viable bids to purchase Carney or Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, and a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge last week approved the closures without objection from the state. Healey has said there is nothing she can do to prevent the two hospitals from closing and said Wednesday that she is now focused on keeping the remaining Steward hospitals here open.
(Copyright (c) 2024 State House News Service.