The Rhode Island Department of Health is seeking public input at a meeting Monday evening on Care New England Health System’s plan to close Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket.
The nonprofit health system announced last month that it plans to close the 295-bed community hospital after a deal to sell Memorial to California-based Prime Healthcare Foundation fell through. Memorial has been losing money for years due to declining use of its in-patient beds.
The meeting at Goff Middle School, at 974 Newport Ave., Pawtucket, is expected to draw local residents, hospital employees and public officials, including Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien and Central Falls Mayor James A. Diossa.
The United Nurses & Allied Professionals Local 508 — which represents 150 hospital employees – has scheduled a protest outside Memorial prior to the meeting to call attention to concerns about the impact of the closure on local health services and jobs.
Care New England has been trying to get Memorial off its balance sheet so it can move forward with negotiations to sell the system to Massachusetts-based Partners Healthcare.
Care New England reported that Memorial lost more $16.3 million during the first nine months of the fiscal year — the most of any of hospital in its system. Care New England reports the hospital is losing about $2 million a month.
