Residents vent frustrations at hearing Waltham, Daily News Tribune
By Shanley Stern
Tuesday, February 12, 2002

WALTHAM, Mass.—Over a five-hour span last night, scores of area residents lined up at a public hearing to plead for the survival of the Deaconess-Waltham Hospital.

Although no decision could be handed down last night by a panel of state Department of Public Health officials, officials and residents charged Commissioner Howard Koh and Mental Health Commissioner May Lou Sudders to utilize their clout and stop the state's growing health-care crisis from devouring Waltham's only community hospital.

"We need help, is there anyone out there listening to us?" said Ellie LeBlanc, one of 87 residents to speak in the packed auditorium. "We should be adding hospitals, not shutting them down. It's not right to close hospitals at the expense of people's lives."

CareGroup, Deaconess-Waltham's parent company, announced its intent to close the hospital a month ago, citing a projected loss for 2002 of $8 million and an outstanding debt totaling more than $24 million.

"At the end of the day, the cash we had has run out," said John Hamill, chairman of the CareGroup Board of Trustees.

Public health officials were responsible for collecting evidence on effects of closing the hospital and the Coalition to Save Waltham Hospital made sure there was no shortage.

From staff doctors and area doctors to emergency medical services personnel, fire and police representatives, all argued a closing would force prolonged ambulance response time, additional overcrowding of nearby emergency rooms and the loss of critical mental health beds.

Kevin Prendergast, a representative of the American Medical Response, said currently it takes 40 minutes to complete a call for an area ambulance from beginning to end. He said if the hospital closes, completion will skyrocket to over two hours.

According to Dr. Richard Lyons, who heads to the emergency room in Waltham, neighboring hospitals such as Newton-Wellesley and Mount Auburn are expecting to receive an additional 10,000 patients for emergency services when Deaconess-Waltham closes. That would be a 28 percent hike
from current numbers.

"This is at best a bad decision and at worst a reckless decision," Lyons said. "Managed care has taken the heart and soul out of our hospital."

At the core of resident and Coalition concerns were the senior citizens of Waltham, a group that currently comprises one-sixth of the city's population. Ruth Gately, director of the Waltham Council on Aging, said the seniors use the hospital most frequently and rely on the close proximity of the services as a critical mainstay for their survival.

For Rosalee Fucci, a resident of Waltham for the last 45 years, there would be no way for her to access another hospital. She said there is one senior van and it only services the Waltham area.

"If it wasn't for Waltham Hospital, I wouldn't be here," said Jean Mahoney, another Waltham senior. "I need this hospital in the future and I need it now."

Health Law Advocate attorney Laurie Martinelli said apart from the 22,000 emergency room patients seen each year, an extra 1,400 patients utilize the 43-bed hospital emergency psychiatric services. She said with almost every psychiatric facility in the area operating at nearly full capacity, there is no answer for where Waltham hospital psychiatric patients will go.

In Deborah Singleton's case, Waltham hospital was the only place her 11-year-old anorexic daughter could be treated. Deaconess-Waltham has theonly separate eating disorder psychiatric unit in the state, and it helped restore Singleton's daughter to a healthy weight.

"She is at 84 pounds now, a picture of health, but mentally she still has a ways to go," Singleton said. "I don't know if the hospital closing will cause a setback (in her recovery)."

Although Koh said the numbers of people who crowded the high school auditorium and the emotional testimonies made a "tremendous impact," the reality still remains in the figures.

Coalition members and residents pushed arguments for the release of frozen state funds allotted for distressed hospitals to buy more time to develop a viable recovery plan. Koh said the Coalition will need to maximize that and every other option for the next 60 days.

"Remember our address is Hope Avenue and we will never give up hope," said Patti Camuti, president of the Waltham division of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.