Somerville Hospital to lose ICU, transitional care and off hours surgery

By George P. Hassett

The city's only hospital is closing its intensive and transitional care units and shifting all off-hours emergency surgeries to Cambridge Hospital. However, at a meeting with aldermen on Monday, Cambridge Health Alliance officials maintained the cutbacks at Somerville Hospital - which will save CHA $4.9 million a year, will have no effect on the quality of care they provide.

“We do not feel we are abandoning our patients,” said Cambridge Health Alliance CEO Dennis Keefe at the meeting. 

Alderman-at-Large William A. White said he was most concerned about the decision to shift off hour surgeries to Cambridge.

“This is the one that gives me pause. Because if there is a mistake made here, someone could die,” he said.

White said he was worried someone in trauma could be brought to Somerville Hospital by a relative or friend who does not realize the hospital has stopped performing surgeries after hours.

CHA Emergency Medicine Chief Assaad Sayah said Somerville Hospital officials are already transferring the most critical surgeries to Cambridge Hospital. Last year 53 operating room cases occurred during off hours, costing the hospital $500,000. All off hour cases will be sent to Cambridge in May 2008.

The cutbacks will also claim at least 32 jobs in the Transitional Care Unit, which will close on June 30, 2008. The closure of the unit will save the Cambridge health Alliance $3.3 million, according to Keefe. Currently, about 450 patients a year are cared for at the Transitional Care Unit, also known as a skilled nursing facility.

The closest transitional care units, according to CHA officials at Monday's meeting, are in Brockton and Holyoke.

Closing the city's only Intensive Care Unit will save CHA $900,000 a year. Chief Operating Officer Allison Bayer said closing the ICU and combining it with the Medical Surgical will improve care.
Overall, Keefe said the changes should improve care as Health Alliance operations are streamlined.

The city's public health director Noreen Burke said after the meeting that she was confident the cutbacks would not harm the quality of care offered to Somerville residents. Alderman-at-Large John M. Connolly asked Alliance officials to return to the board in September with any updates.

Comments

[Harvard Medical School]

Why doesn't the CHA ask Harvard University to dip into their almost 30 BILLION dollar endowment and keep Somerville Hospital as a viable hospital not just another "clinic".

Imagine, a city of about one hundred thousand people, legal and illegal, that doesn't have an up to date hospital to care for their citizens.

"Cambridge Health Alliance is an innovative, award-winning health system based in Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston's Metro-North communities. Through its two teaching hospitals, The Cambridge Hospital and Somerville Hospital, the Alliance is proud to be a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Today, it provides comprehensive health services at three community hospitals and more than twenty primary care practices, and works to improve the public health through advocacy, outreach, and a wide range of community programs."

[CEO maybe?]

Your praise of CHA and Somerville Hospital are interesting. Are you the CEO? I agree, we need a hospital, but we need a GOOD hospital. Somerville Hospital is a nightmare. Many would be better off if it closed completely!

[SH WORKER]

I WORK AT SOMERVILLE HOSPITAL AND SEE LOTS OF SINGLE PARENTS LOSING THEIR JOBS DUE TO THIS BUDGET CUT. I UNDERSTAND THEY CANT AFFORD SO MANY WORKERS BUT ITS NOT LIKE THEY DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE IN TROUBLE A YEAR AGO. THEY COULD HAVE GAVE THE WORKERS A DECENT AMOUNT OF TIME BY TELLING THEM LIKE 6 MONTHS AGO TO START SEARCHING FOR A NEW JOB.

[The Somerville Hospital is Brutal]

The somerville Hospital is brutal. On a scale from 1-10 its about a 4. This is a serious problem. I have witnessed many people say "take me anywhere but Somerville"......

[CHA]

And yet, despite the Somerville's Hospital terrible reputation and horrendous record of poor treatment, the city continues to pay them loads of money for doing.....what?
And CHA is expanding constantly. How are they building new centers in Malden and Everett if they truly can't continue to fund the one already here in Somerville? I say get them out of our city....anything associated with CHA is a nightmare and a financial drain!

[GAF]

It's really bad that this hospital is declining. I have been a patient there for almost 15 years. I was an inpatient there last week and I left the hospital because I was not receving a fair treatment. The doctors are really good and most of the staff, but some of them are giving the hospital a bad reputation. We need better health care. A few months ago my insurance paid more than $7,000.00 for 4 hours in the ER. Last week will be worst...
The night shift is usually the worst one, because people don't want to care for patients. They are not being trained about a lot of the ethical issues, I guess. I am very sad to leave the CHA. Maybe my entire family will be looking for a different health facility also. I am very frustraded with that. I do not want to hear nurses and some doctors saying out loud in the corridors I'm faking a situation where I have lots of pain, I can't talk or walk. (Sometimes, it would be helpful to try listening to the patient). The funny part is that I went to the ER of the Cambridge Hospital but I woke up at the Somerville Hospital. My family called both sites and they said I wasn't there. A police report for missing report was done, but my family found me at night when I could call them. I think it is scary being there...