Pawtucket seeking critical healthcare services plans

Mayor Grebien and the Memorial Hospital Trust Advisory Committee announce Request for Information of Plans to Provide Critical Health Care Services

Application Process Open through March 8, 2021

Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien and the Memorial Hospital Trust Advisory Committee are pleased to announce a Request for Information (RFI) process for non-profit organizations to submit plans to provide critical health care services that are not currently met in the community due to the closure of Memorial Hospital.

The Committee was created by the City of Pawtucket, with the approval of Bank of America (BOA) Trustees, to ensure that a trust fund created to oversee charitable donations made to Pawtucket Memorial Hospital will continue to benefit the residents of Pawtucket and the Blackstone Valley. The RFI, posted on the City of Pawtucket website, is open to qualified Rhode Island Section 501(c)3 non-profit organizations that submit projects in accordance with the guidelines provided.

“I want to thank the diverse community members that made up the Memorial Hospital Trust Committee for their diligent work in moving this RFI forward for the benefit of the residents of Pawtucket and the greater Blackstone Valley,” said Mayor Grebien. “This is an opportunity for our community to have a voice in how these remaining trust funds can be used to benefit those in need who lost health care options with the closure of Memorial Hospital.”

Bank of America serves as Trustee of several trusts that were established with the intent of donating a percentage of annual earnings to provide free services for the vulnerable communities of Pawtucket and Blackstone Valley at Memorial Hospital. With the closure of the hospital, the annual earnings can no longer be used for charitable care at the hospital since it no longer serves the community because it does not exist. The purpose of the RFI is to assist the Trustee in finding alternative beneficiary proposals the annual trust income which continues to accumulate as art of the trust fund had been allocated for this charitable purpose in a manner that will most closely honor the original intent of the donors to these trusts. The Trustee will make the final decision of whom to nominate to the R.I. Superior Court as an alternative beneficiary either from the proposals presented by Advisory Committee or independently.

The amount of Trust income that will be distributed on an annual basis to the alternative beneficiary approved by the R.I Superior Court will range each year depending on the performance of the Trust’s investments. Over the past several years, trust income has generally ranged between approximately $283,000 and $387,000.

“The City looks forward to receiving many applications from our community partners and their visions on how to provide much needed health care related services to our residents. It is important to use these funds in keeping with the intent of the trustees and donors of helping our most vulnerable members of society,” said Mayor Grebien.

The application period will open on Monday, February 1, 2021 at 12 p.m. and will run until Monday, March 8, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.

Full information regarding the RFI application process and the application can be found at www.pawtucketri.com/MemorialCommittee. In addition, there will be two Informational/Q&A sessions via ZOOM on Tuesday February 16th at 11:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Interested applicants can receive instructions in the RFI packet on how to participate in the informational ZOOM meetings by contacting Carlos Lopez Estrada, Deputy Director of Administration, at 401-728-0500 x 281 or via email at [email protected].

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