Norwood Hospital Outpatient Facilities To Shutter in Weeks

Above, Norwood CT in Foxborough, slated to close in weeks.

After the deluge that all but destroyed Norwood hospital, it has been
a slow drip of disappointment. What might be a final blow fell Monday
afternoon with what has been reported as yet another bankruptcy court
filing involving Steward Health, which still retained its ownership
stake in Norwood.

According
to an NBC 10 story the filing states that
Norwood Hospital will officially close by Nov. 5, along with its
affiliated clinics. Those facilities
include
Norwood Performance Therapy and Guild Imaging Center of Norwood
Hospital in Norwood and Foxboro CT and Norwood Hospital Cancer Care
Center
in Foxborough.

The
filing indicated the closing date for some of those facilities could
change, depending on what is required to maintain patient care.

Throughout
the state-mediated sale of other Steward properties the
administration has stayed away from the more complex Norwood
situation, which involves a facility in the midst of a complete
reconstruction –- a process halted by Steward’s financial
problems.

Monday
evening, Tim
Foley, Executive Vice President at 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers
East, released the following statement in response to Steward’s
plans to sever ties with what’s
left of Norwood
Hospital. 

“Norwood
Hospital’s healthcare workers and our patients have already
experienced so much disruption over the past four years. Our
communities cannot afford to have yet another obstacle placed in the
way of the high-quality healthcare we all deserve.

“Medical
Properties Trust, Steward’s partner in the financial mismanagement
that created this crisis, and its mortgage lender, Apollo Global
Management, cannot be allowed to determine the future of care for
Norwood.”

“As
Steward leaves Massachusetts, state regulators must ensure a smooth
transition process for patients served by Norwood Hospital’s
satellite offices in Norwood and Foxborough, and strong protections
for any impacted workers if the closure moves forward. As with the
closed Steward hospitals in Boston and Ayer, we need a robust,
community-led regional commission to shape the future of the Norwood
Hospital site and ensure that access to life-saving care is
restored.”