Almost 100 nurses could lose their jobs if MetroWest Medical Center moves forward with plans to end inpatient services at Natick, Mass.-based Leonard Morse Hospital, a Massachusetts Nurses Association spokesperson told MetroWest Daily News.
Owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, MetroWest health system announced Jan. 21 the removal of acute care at Leonard Morse Hospital. The move would reduce inpatient beds at Leonard Morse and create longer wait times at MetroWest Medical Center's Framingham (Mass.) Union, the MNA argues, decreasing overall patient care quality.
Leonard Morse is a 160-bed facility with 189 nurses, half of whom work in the psychiatric unit. Medical/surgical, intensive care, operating rooms, emergency department and outpatient rehabilitation nurses could all lose their jobs, the MNA says. Psychiatric, sleep lab and computed tomography scan services are to remain open.
Leonard Morse officials would not comment on the MNA's concerns, a hospital spokesperson told MetroWest Daily News.
MetroWest plans to improve acute care at Framingham Union, particularly in its ED, cardiovascular care, wound care, infrastructure and clinical equipment, according to a Jan. 22 statement cited by MetroWest Daily News.
A mandated department of public health hearing on planned closures hasn't been scheduled yet.