Health Care Union Files Lawsuit Against Care New England Over Memorial Hospital Closure
Friday, December 08, 2017
The battle over the closure of Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket took another turn. The United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) Local 5082 filed a lawsuit on Thursday in Superior Court to force Care New New England to comply with state law relative to operation and closure of the facility.
The union contends that critical provisions in the Hospital Conversions Act (HCA) have been ignored by Care New England (CNE) as "it haphazardly sought to eliminate operations at Memorial Hospital (MHRI) without following any regulations."
"The Department of Health has allowed Care New England to circumvent the Hospital Conversions Act and now we are asking the Court to restore integrity to the regulatory process," said Chris Callaci, UNAP general counsel.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn November, CNE indicated to the Rhode Island Department of Health that it would close Memorial Hospital and transfer Memorial Hospitals's assets to one of its affiliates, Kent Hospital. The HCA says that transfers of 20 percent or more of the assets of a hospital in Rhode Island requires approval by both the Department of Health and the Rhode Island Department of Attorney General. UNAP contends that any attempt to transfer assets, services or licensing from MHRI to Kent Hospital must be regulated according to the HCA.
"The plans Care New England submitted to Health are inconsistent, incomplete and cannot be used to gauge the impact Memorial's closure will have on the community it has served for more than 100 years," Callaci said.
In the filinig, UNAP says it is seeking an order from the court recognizing that CNE and MHRI failed to comply with HCA regulations and preventing them from taking any further steps in the overall restructuring of CNE, or eliminating any additional healthcare services or jobs at MHRI until an appropriate review is complete by state regulators under the provisions of the HCA.
"The HCA was enacted to protect patients, communities and health professionals and we respectfully urge the Court to hold the Department of Health and Care New England accountable to follow all appropriate state laws and regulations as this process continues to unfold," said Callaci.
UNAP Local 5082 represents approximately 150 registered nurses, social workers, pharmacists, laboratory technologists and other health professionals at Memorial Hospital.
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