Brigham and Ladies’s Hospital nurses are talking out in opposition to plans to merge the hospital’s burn unit with Mass Common’s in 2026, which they argue damages generations of institutional data in treating burn sufferers, the Massachusetts Nurses Affiliation acknowledged Tuesday.
“We will fight to ensure this highly specialized care remains available to the patients who rely on the Brigham,” mentioned Kelly Morgan, labor and supply nurse and BWH MNA Chair. “Our nurses’ expertise is irreplaceable, and we will not allow corporate decisions to override what is best for patients, staff, and our community.”
Brigham and Ladies’s nurses had been notified Monday that Mass Common Brigham supposed to maneuver the hospital’s burn unit to merge right into a single statewide program at Massachusetts Common Hospital, the union mentioned. If the plan beneficial properties regulatory approval, the items could be merged as of March 2026 and the present Tower 8 burn unit would transition to serve essential care sufferers.
On Tuesday, the hospital notified the Division of Public Health of the supposed change, the MNA mentioned.
MNA, which represents about 4,000 BWH nurses, mentioned it’s members “strongly oppose the move,” noting they “believe this change will weaken the hospital’s ability to care for some of the most critically injured patients.”
Mass Common Brigham didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon the plan as of Tuesday night.
The union’s contract prevents pressured switch of the nurses, MNA mentioned, which means the “nationally respected team of highly specialized burn nurses” would be capable to select to stay at BWH.
“Brigham burn unit nurses are not only experts, but they are also deeply committed to the Brigham,” mentioned PACU nurse and the hospital’s MNA Vice Chair Jim McCarthy, including their contract “ensures better retirement protections, better health insurance choice, and stronger workplace protections than what is available at non-union hospitals like MGH.”
MNA famous different contract phrases together with a pension and job protections at BWH.
“We expect most burn unit nurses will choose to stay because of the union difference at BWH,” McCarthy mentioned.
The lack of burn unit nurses working within the subject, the union mentioned, “risks diminishing institutional knowledge” that has existed on the hospital over generations.
The announcement comes months after Mass Common Brigham introduced a whole lot of layoffs throughout the hospital system in February to bridge a $250 million finances hole projected over the following two years.
MNA officers argued the consolidation is “being driven by system-level decisions rather than by patient need.”
“Brigham nurses bring extraordinary clinical skill, specialized training, and decades of experience in burn care to this hospital,” mentioned Morgan. “These skills belong here at the Brigham, not moved across the system. Our patient care community deserves direct access to burn expertise at BWH.”
