Carney Hospital, Nashoba Valley Medical Center Officially Shut Down

DORCHESTER, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Two of Steward Health Care's Massachusetts hospitals officially closed their doors Saturday.

Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer shut down as a result of Steward's bankruptcy crisis, drawing criticism from residents, healthcare workers, and lawmakers who see the hospitals as integral parts of the community.

Ellen MacInnes, a registered nurse at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton, another Steward hospital, paid a visit to the now-shuttered Carney after her shift.

"I just got out of work and I just felt like I had to come here," MacInnis said. "I’m mourning this, I’m mourning that we’re losing this vital institution. I’m angry, I’m beyond angry."

MacInnis told WBZ NewsRadio she believes Carney shutting down is a socio-economic issue and would never have happened in a rich White community.

"70 percent of the patients cared for by Steward Health Care are public pay patients," said MacInnis. "This is basically a Black and brown community, a minority community, and I think that the governor and her administration have thought to themselves, We can take the hit on this too, that we won’t suffer politically."

MacInnis shared her anger and tears with Charmayne Paulding, a Dorchester resident who came to Carney for everything.

"It’s so sad. I don’t know where to go now," Paulding said. "All this week and last week, it’s been making me have anxiety because this is the closest hospital. What are our nurses and doctors gonna do? Where are they gonna go?"

"Walking by the closed hospital with the closed hospital signs is a little creepy," said Aloura, another local. "We had to take a picture because it’s something that we’ve never really seen before."

Aloura and her husband have a baby with allergies. She told WBZ NewsRadio it is disconcerting to see her nearest hospital close.

"I guess we need a plan and we don’t have one right now, so we need to make a plan for where we’ll go now," Aloura said.

An ambulance will remain outside Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center for seven days in case people have an emergency.

Meanwhile, Steward announced last week that it has signed "definitive agreements" to sell four other Massachusetts hospitals: Morton Hospital in Taunton, Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River, and the Holy Family Hospital facilities in Methuen and Haverhill. They are also still working to finalize the sales of Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and St. Elizabeth's.

WBZ's Suzanne Sausville (@WBZSausville) reports.

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