Gov. Maura Healey moved to shut two psychological well being hospitals in Canton and Pocasset and lay off half the Division of Psychological Health’s case managers in an effort to chop down prices and stability the fiscal 12 months 2026 funds proposal she rolled out Wednesday.
The choice to shutter the amenities and try to cut back psychological well being positions comes because the first-term Democrat from Arlington is dealing with slower tax income progress than the red-hot years of the pandemic that prompted will increase in state spending. It additionally follows the closing of hospitals previously owned by Steward Health Care in Dorchester and Ayer.
Healey mentioned consolidating hospitals below the Division of Public Health would save the state $31 million even because the order to shut the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Kids in Canton and the Pocasset Psychological Health Heart put no less than 281 state jobs prone to being eradicated.
Union officers representing healthcare staff throughout the state instantly condemned Healey.
James Durkin, director of laws and political motion at AFSCME Council 93, mentioned the union might be “aggressively opposing” the hospital closures in Canton and Pocasset. The labor group represents direct care staff, together with state workers in Canton and Pocasset
“They’re just eliminating the beds at a time where there is a dire shortage of inpatient mental health beds,” Durkin instructed the Herald Wednesday.
Prime funds writers for the Healey administration acknowledged the closure of the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Kids in a briefing with reporters earlier within the day however didn’t point out the plan for the psychological well being facility on Cape Cod.
However the Division of Psychological Health confirmed the destiny of the Pocasset Psychological Health Heart in a message to company employees, in keeping with a duplicate of the missive obtained by the Herald Wednesday.
The message mentioned the Healey administration fiscal 12 months 2026 funds included the closure of the acute inpatient unit in Pocasset and an effort to cut back the variety of case administration employees.
Any adjustments would happen after the beginning of the fiscal 12 months on July 1 and state officers would meet and cut price with unions beforehand, in keeping with the message, which was circulated by Health and Human Providers Labor Relations Director Ann Looney.
“I understand that this is very difficult information to receive, but I also want to be honest about the budget realities we are facing as an agency. As the process unfolds in the weeks ahead, we will update you and your union representatives as the budget is debated, and potentially amended, before it is finalized,” the memo, which was titled “commissioner message,” mentioned.
The governor doesn’t want legislative approval to shut the psychological well being amenities, in keeping with the Healey administration. A spokesperson for the Government Workplace of Health and Human Providers didn’t present a timeline for his or her closures.
Healey additionally pitched lowering the variety of Division of Psychological Health case managers from 340 to 170 in her funds proposal for the following fiscal 12 months, in keeping with the spokesperson.
“We recognize these changes have significant impacts on patients and families, and we are committed to supporting them through the transition of their care. We will also work with employees and our partners in labor to support impacted employees and ensure they are able to transition to new roles,” the spokesperson mentioned in an announcement to the Herald.
SEIU 509 President Dave Foley, who represents the case managers, mentioned Healey introduced a “drastic proposal of budget cuts that will have a devastating impact on our most vulnerable residents and jeopardize the livelihoods of human services workers.”
Foley mentioned the union wouldn’t let the cuts “go unchallenged” and known as on the Healey administration to faucet right into a $9 billion reserve account to keep away from the hospital closures and any layoffs proposed within the funds.
“At a time when the commonwealth is reeling from the far-reaching effects of trauma and a growing need for crisis intervention, we cannot stand by as the infrastructure that our communities depend on is dismantled,” Foley mentioned in an announcement.
Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Kids was serving 36 sufferers as of Wednesday who can be transferred to “appropriate settings” over the following six to 9 months, in keeping with the Division of Public Health.
Greater than half of the present sufferers on the facility are over the age of 18 and are awaiting discharge to different places, the company mentioned in an announcement.
The choice to shut the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Kids would “affect the more than 225 current … employees” in addition to employees from the Division of Elementary and Secondary Schooling, Easterseals, and Aramark who present providers on the Canton facility, in keeping with the Division of Public Health.
It was unclear if these workers can be supplied new jobs. A spokesperson for the Division of Public Health mentioned the company would work with “labor partners to identify appropriate opportunities for staff.”
The Pocasset Psychological Health Heart is a 16-bed psychiatric hospital with 56 employees, in keeping with the Healey administration.
Andrew Farnitano, a spokesperson for the Elevate Up Massachusetts coalition, mentioned Healey’s funds proposal included “significant cuts” to the healthcare and human providers sector.
“Massachusetts is one of the richest states in the richest country in the world. Especially at a time when our residents face new threats from the Trump administration, we should be making new investments to meet the needs of our state’s families, not subjecting them to catastrophic cuts targeting healthcare and other critical public services,” he mentioned in an announcement.
