Lawmakers and Carney employees rally in opposition to hospital’s closing

On Monday, July 29 elected officials, Dorchester residents, hospital workers and community advocates gathered outside of Carney Hospital to express concerns over Steward Health Care’s recently announced closure of the hospital.

The projected date of closure is Aug 31. Steward also plans to close another local hospital, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer around the same time.

Steward filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and is selling off seven of its eight Massachusetts hospitals. The two hospitals are closing due to a lack of interest from buyers.

President & CEO at Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers’ Michael Curry explains the effects the closure would have on the community.

Steward Health Care announced the closing of Carney Hospital in Dorchester. BANNER PHOTO

“Many of the patients and communities served by Carney and Nashoba are also served by our member community health centers. For the past year, people in these communities have lived with the uncertainty of whether they can maintain access to services and for some the anxiety about whether they’ll lose their jobs and their livelihoods,” he said.

Curry said the drain would be felt by residents all over and not just the patients at these two hospitals.

“Costs are rising, and we know these closures will exacerbate the health disparities that we were already dealing with and trying to eliminate in low-income, underserved and diverse communities. Carney and Nashoba Valley have been important assets for these communities, and today we mourn their loss at the hands of Steward’s greed,” he went on to say.

Former Carney patient and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said Carney is a special place where the staff truly cares for the patients.

“I, myself have been a patient at Carney. They are patient-centered, culturally competent and compassionate. They don’t turn anyone away. As I stopped to meet and greet people coming in, I was not surprised that many of the people here were more concerned about the communities and the people they serve than even their own jobs,” she shared.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley and other elected officials gathered outside of Carney Hospital to express concerns over Steward Health Care’s plans to close the facility. BANNER PHOTO

Pressley said losing the hospital would be a great loss to the community of Dorchester.

“They have one of the shortest wait times in the city when it comes to their ER. Yep, I’ve been here. My neighbors and loved ones have been patients here. I know how essential this hospital is to the community. The closure of Carney is a catastrophic blow to a community that is dependent on this institution, and it’s essential health care for over 160 years. There are people who’ve been working here with 30 or 40 years in service to our community,” she said.

Carney Hosptial worker and Dorchester resident Maureen Rate has served her community for over 45 years and couldn’t imagine herself anywhere else.

“I’ve worked at this hospital for 45 years. It’s my family. The people I work with are all my family. We have patients who have been here as long as me, so it’s a comfort. It’s my job, you know. You take care of family, and that’s what I do. I take care of my family that’s here at this hospital,” she shared.

Rate said part of what makes Carney so special is that it’s a place where all are welcomed.

“We’ve had times when we’ve got patients that have come from Milton because they told them to come here, to go to Carney because there’s less waiting time. They didn’t want to serve our patients. That’s what it was and that happens a lot, unfortunately,” she said.

As rough as the road ahead may be for Carney, its patients and its workers, Tate said she hasn’t given up hope.

“We need to be a nonprofit hospital. And honestly, if they give us a chance, and put the right people in the right places, this hospital can survive. We can survive,” the Dorchester resident shared.

Carney nurse and patient Padma Singh said corporate greed is the real cause behind Carney’s closure.

“Where did we go wrong in healthcare serving the people and the community of Dorchester? It was not our fault,”

Singh said the hospital’s closure would hit her twice as hard.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but in 31 days, I’m going to lose my job. I have had two heart attacks. I lost my husband and my eldest son. If I have a heart attack now, where am I gonna go? I have no cardiologist. I have no insurance. I have nothing and yet I show up every day and take care of patients,” she said.