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BOSTON (State House News Service) — Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital is slated to reopen this spring, more than a year after a massive electrical fire closed the facility, in what the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association said Monday is "very good news" for southeastern Massachusetts.
The MHA heralded the reopening of the 216-bed hospital as a major help in easing staffing and capacity issues felt throughout the state's health care system. Meanwhile, health officials and elected leaders are monitoring the acute financial distress at Steward Health Care, which owns nine facilities serving mostly low-income residents in eastern Massachusetts.
"Every day since the fire, one of our three paramount goals has been to safely reopen as soon as possible," Robert Haffey, Signature's CEO, said in a statement in MHA's weekly newsletter. "Our construction partners and local, state, and federal officials share this goal and have been tireless in pursuing it. Now, we have entered the final phases of work to continue renovating the damaged electrical and other infrastructure and are announcing this spring, Brockton Hospital will welcome back its valued staff, patients, and the community."
Nearly 160 patients were evacuated from the hospital last February when a 10-alarm fire broke out, Boston.com had reported. Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Health and Human Services Kate Walsh toured Brockton facilities, including a fire station and Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, that were dealing last March with the aftermath of the fire.
MHA said the 250,000-foot hospital needed to be "completely rewired." The reopened hospital will feature a renovated emergency department, plus a new 12-bed behavioral health triage unit and an outpatient surgical center, MHA said.
"For the past year, we have seen Signature Healthcare work around the clock to restore its facility, temporarily place caregivers in other local settings, and maintain access to as many care services as possible -- all while keeping community members engaged and informed," Patricia Noga, MHA’s vice president of clinical affairs, said in a statement. "Signature’s reopening announcement is fantastic news for patients in the greater Brockton area. And it is equally welcome news for the southeast region, where the hospital capacity crunch has been especially pronounced in recent years."
Written by Alison Kunitz SHNS
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