Should hospital officials prevail in their plan to shutter inpatient beds at Holy Family Hospital Haverhill, local patients who are transferred to Methuen or Lawrence won’t feel the burden of additional costs.
Executives of Lawrence General Hospital offered that assurance during back-to-back meetings this week called to give the public a chance to weigh in on the proposal to maintain Holy Family’s emergency department as a “satellite” stand-alone unit, but send patients who need to be admitted to sister hospitals.
The first of the two meetings was a formal public hearing called by the state Department of Public Health held Wednesday night at Northern Essex Community College. It covered the proposed closing of in-patient medical and surgical beds as well as the intensive care unit at the Haverhill campus. The second session was Thursday at Haverhill Public Library and run by hospital officials to hear comments from the public and answer questions.
As WHAV reported previously Lawrence General requested a change to its license go into effect Oct. 1 largely because of a drop in the inpatient census. Currently, only nine of the 59 inpatient beds are in use. The emergency department would continue to run with relating laboratory, CT scan and x-ray technology as would the behavioral health unit which is scheduled to open 12 more beds.
The state Department of Public Health will make a determination on the request by mid-August, according to Stephen Davis, director of the Department of Facility Licensure and Certification.
At Thursday’s meeting Joseph Rampulla of Groveland asked if he would still be eligible for a taxi voucher to get home following a discharge as is currently offered in Haverhill.
Responding, Diana L. Richardson, interim president of the new healthcare system, answered “yes.” Dr. Jeremiah “Jay” Schuur, head of emergency medicine at the three hospitals, went further, saying patients who require a transfer to either Methuen or Lawrence would not see an extra bill. He noted only 10 to 15% of those who come to the Haverhill emergency department are ultimately admitted to the hospital, and that most of patients are already being transferred to other hospitals.
Lauren Towler of Haverhill asked if there are any long-term plans to invest in the Haverhill campus. Schuur said not only is Lawrence General considering adding additional ambulatory services, Holy Family Haverhill has seen several upgrades since Lawrence General purchased the hospital from bankrupt Steward Health Care last year.
“There’s been a new call system for the nurses. We have new stretchers and wheelchairs, new doors for the ambulance staff to bring in patients. We’ve repaired the signage externally. There are new computers and workstations for staff to work more efficiently closer to the bedside. We’ve enhanced the space for behavioral health patients. We’ve improved some of the space for the staff who work there including lockers and breakrooms and there is ongoing work to improve the physical space including replacing some windows, new curtains, walls and floor space,” Schuur said.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Kate Cox of Haverhill said she moved to Haverhill in part because of the hospital, which has offered her good care. Both Schuur and George Kondylis, chief medical officer for the three hospitals, argued that maintaining quality care is a good argument for closing the inpatient beds.
“With any small unit like that, it is difficult to have the repetition that’s needed and the experience that is needed on a daily basis to be able to manage all the vast diversity of medical conditions that can come it. It’s critically important to be able to see a volume of patients that will give that repetition for clinicians to remain active and confident in the decisions they make,” Kondylis said.
He added patients at Holy Family Methuen and Lawrence General have better access to specialists than in Haverhill.
“There are challenges with having the adequate resources that are needed—the specialty care, the multidisciplinary care that come with a small unit compared to a unit that is much larger and has more resources available,” Kondylis added.