“Memorial Hospital stands ready to answer the call” – Pawtucket & Central Falls Mayors

In a letter sent March 30th to Care New England’s CEO and board of directors, Mayor Donald Grebien and Mayor James Diossa together, are urging the opening of their community’s hospital, Memorial Hospital, which was provisionally shuttered about two years ago. The hospital had over 200 beds and more than a dozen ICU units. Here is the body of the letter:

“The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been rapidly spreading across the country, state, and our communities. These are unchartered territories. We truly commend the tremendous work being done by Governor Raimondo and the Rhode Island Department of Health to lead the response against COVID-19 across the state. However, we need your help for the safety and well-being of our communities.

On behalf of the residents of Pawtucket, Central Falls and the Blackstone Valley, we are writing to you to request that you, as the owner of the Memorial Hospital campus, assist the State and our communities by re-opening the shuttered Memorial Hospital to provide all essential services to support our communities during this crisis.

The State’s needs are great, especially in the Blackstone Valley for a testing site, respiratory and an isolation center. A commitment from Care New England (CNE) along with your equipment and capacity would assist the communities during these challenging times. This is a true opportunity for CNE to prove that the needs outweigh the finances. In light of the decision to close Memorial Hospital and eliminate essential medical services for our residents, you have an obligation to these communities.

The Cities know that, through the recent Federal CARES Act, there is a Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund. The legislation is making available $100 billion to reimburse eligible health care providers for health care-related expenses or lost revenues not otherwise reimbursed that are directly attributable to COVID-19.

CNE is a non-profit operation so this organization would fall in line with this funding. Here, you have the opportunity to make good on the residents and our State.

If there is anything we can do to help facilitate having the Memorial Hospital site provide essential services, please let us know. Our administrations are prepared to provide whatever assistance is necessary.”

The letter was sent with copies to:

The Honorable Gina M. Raimondo, Governor of the State of Rhode Island
Director Nicole Alexander Scott, M.D., Rhode Island Department of Health
Colonel Andrew J. Chevalier, Rhode Island National Guard
Marc R. Pappas, Director R.I. Emergency
The Honorable Jack F. Reed, U.S. Senator of R.I.
The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator of R.I.
The Honorable David Cicilline, U.S. Representative of R.I.
The Honorable James R. Langevin, U.S. Representative of R.I.
The Pawtucket City Council
The Central Falls City Council

Governor Raimondo’s comment:

At her 1pm availability, Governor Raimondo bristled at the question from a media representative referencing the Grebien/Diossa letter on behalf of the people they serve in their respective cities, saying it would be “too expensive” to reopen.

The Mayors’ Response:

A statement released after the Governor’s availability, from both Mayor Grebien and Mayor Diossa:

“As leaders in the Blackstone Valley, we support the great work that has been done by the State throughout this pandemic. However, the Blackstone Valley needs the State to support us at the same time. With cases rising in our cities, we need access to testing for our residents and first responders. Care New England, as a nonprofit entity, can access federal funding in order to do this on the Memorial Hospital campus. We cannot ask our residents to travel to Providence, Warwick or South County as they are not easily accessible to all members of our community. We will continue to work for our residents to have direct access to our highest quality care and services. They deserve no less.“

Memorial Hospital had conditions to meet to be able to close:

Part of the agreement from the RI Dept. of Health back in late 2017 including mandates from the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review which “ordered Care New England to maintain the building so it won’t become a fire hazard or an eyesore. Care New England will not be allowed to board up the windows or shut off the heat. CNE will also have to maintain the fire alarm system and security patrols.”

The John Snow Report on the impact on care of the closing of Memorial

Just a few weeks ago, in a study report released by John Snow, a global health research company, it was determined that “Care New England’s decision to close Memorial Hospital has had an adverse impact on care, decreased access to healthcare and sent patients out of state for care…”.

The report goes on, “the closure of MHRI “removed a ‘nucleus’ of health care services for communities with high healthcare need. Although inpatient utilization had declined over the years, residents continued to use emergency services, hospital outpatient services, and ancillary services located on the MHRI campus.”

It ends with noting that patients have, for the most part, not sought out other sources of care, but instead, have sought no care. To Care New England, the letter ends with a plea from the mayors, “In light of the decision to close Memorial Hospital and eliminate essential medical services for our residents, you have an obligation to these communities.”