In a move to save costs, Massachusetts officials opted to close Jamaica Plain, Mass.-based Lemuel Shattuck Hospital and relocate its inpatient services across town to Boston Medical Center, according to The Boston Globe.
State officials said modernizing or building a new facility at LSH, which is 64 years old, would cost between $400 million and $500 million, whereas purchasing and renovating a building owned by Boston Medical Center would be half the price.
The transition, which will allow for closer collaboration with Boston Medical Center, is scheduled for 2021.
"The administration has carefully weighed many options and communicated with stakeholders about renovation needs," Elissa Snook, media relations manager for the Massachusetts Executive Office of HHS, told The Globe. Transitioning inpatient services to the building owned by Boston Medical Center is "the best option for patients that will also save taxpayers nearly $200 million," she added.
LSH is licensed for 260 medical and psychiatric beds and employs 700 people. Massachusetts officials do not expect to lay off any employees in the transition. However, officials are unsure about the future of outpatient programs on the current site.
The Massachusetts HHS will do a "comprehensive review" of outpatient services to determine which ones it will keep.
Several facilities will remain at the LSH site, including a homeless shelter, residential addiction treatment sites and a methadone clinic.