A Dorchester working group issued a report recommending that the town reuse the shuttered Carney Hospital web site for “high-quality” well being companies and beef up capability at surrounding neighborhood well being facilities to deal with gaps introduced on by the closure.
The 34-member Dorchester Health Planning Working Group, co-led by Boston Public Health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu and President of the Massachusetts League of Neighborhood Health Facilities Michael Curry, launched a report Wednesday concerning the way forward for the Carney Hospital web site, which closed final August.
The report made 5 key suggestions to Mayor Michelle Wu and Gov. Maura Healey centered round making certain residents within the underserved areas of Dorchester and Mattapan have higher entry to the important thing well being care and social companies which have grow to be strained after the lack of their neighborhood hospital.
“The closure of Carney Hospital was a sad day and major disruption for the Dorchester community,” Dr. Robbie Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Division of Public Health, mentioned in an announcement. “The recommendations in this report reflect both the urgency of the moment and innovative care models that can serve as a blueprint for the work ahead.”
Carney Hospital shuttered final Aug. 31 as a part of the for-profit Steward Health Care’s chapter proceedings, and the working group convened final October to check future makes use of of the Dorchester web site.
The report advisable that the 12.7-acre former hospital web site be reused for the supply of high-quality well being care and social companies that meet the neighborhood’s well being and social wants, and that staffing capability be elevated at space neighborhood well being facilities to deal with major care gaps exacerbated by the closure.
It additionally advisable that the town tackle the rapid influence of the Carney Hospital closure on entry to emergency medical companies, by advocating for added state funding and reimbursement to close by neighborhood well being facilities and hospitals, and deploying extra ambulances to that space, amongst different steps.
The report highlights 30,000 emergency division visits per yr at Carney Hospital previous to its closure, representing the sixth highest ED quantity in Boston.
Carney’s closure has led to longer ambulance transport instances for sufferers within the Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods, and strained emergency division companies within the area, the report contends.
There have been 1,073 ambulance journeys to the emergency division at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Milton, the closest hospital to the Carney web site, in December 2024, in comparison with 853 in January 2024, representing a roughly 25% enhance.
In January 2025, 24.5% of ambulance to ED journeys originated in Boston, in comparison with 11.1% in January 2024, the report states.
“Data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health show that the number of EMS runs from the Carney region to area hospitals Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Faulkner, and South Shore Hospitals has increased since the Aug. 31 closure date,” the report states.
The report additionally advisable that the town and state look to extend behavioral well being care and therapy capability in community-based settings to keep away from emergency division use the place acceptable, and put money into holistic techniques of care that prioritize health-related social wants and social determinants of well being, together with by the continuing use of the hospital web site.
The working group emphasised that suggestions for any particular new possession construction for the positioning is exterior the scope of its report, and that it’s not taking a place on which entity or entities would perform its imaginative and prescient for the positioning nor advocating for both a reuse of present services or new development.
It famous within the report, nonetheless, that the mayor has “communicated the city’s intent to use its land use authority to ensure that the site continues to be used for the provision of health services.”
The report additionally mentions that the advisable makes use of would probably require varied approvals on the state degree.
Mayor Wu, in an announcement, mentioned the working group’s “thoughtful recommendations will serve as a roadmap to creating equitable and financially sustainable access to health care for communities in Dorchester.”
