The Boston City Council voted Aug. 7 to approve a resolution calling on the city's Public Health Commission to declare a public health emergency due to the planned Aug. 31 closure of Dallas-based Steward Health Care's Carney Hospital.
"Our careful review of local emergency declarations has shown that a public health emergency declaration is used to override procurement processes or accelerate the deployment of available federal or state funds," a city spokesperson said in an Aug. 7 statement shared with Becker's. "However, a declaration would not create any new authority or resources at the local level to address this crisis, so we continue to partner on what the city can best deliver and advocate for alongside our community.”
"This closure would exacerbate the already overburdened healthcare system we have today and it will affect every constituent in the city of Boston and beyond," Mr. Fitzgerald said during the council meeting. "Steward's brazen greed guaranteed that everyone's next trip to the emergency room will be even longer and so many underserved left without options or knowing where to turn. That is why today, we're calling on the Boston Public Health Commission and the governor to declare a public health emergency for our healthcare system."
Steward, which sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection May 6, is looking to offload its hospitals and Stewardship Health, its physician group.
The for-profit health system has also received approval to close its Ayer, Mass.-based Nashoba Valley Medical Center by Aug. 31. Massachusetts state leaders have pushed back on the closure date, stating that Steward must follow the state's 120-day closure procedure for the two hospitals.
"Carney and Nashoba Valley did not receive qualified bids," a spokesperson for Gov. Maura Healey said in an Aug. 7 statement shared with Becker's. "The administration is pressing Steward to follow the 120-day closure process, but recognizes that the hospitals are out of money, patient levels have been low at these hospitals and there is a need to fill open health care roles at other facilities."
The state recently approved $30 million to keep Steward's state hospitals operating while it deals with financial troubles.
Steward did not have an immediate comment for Becker's at this time.