CNE, UNAP reach agreement on Memorial Hospital closure

December 18, 2017 6:40 pm

By: Rebecca Turco

Email: rturco@abc6.com

PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Care New England (CNE) and the local nurses’ union have reached an agreement surrounding the closure of Memorial Hospital.

CNE and United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) agreed to turn the hospital into a community healthcare center. This means Memorial will shift from a full-service hospital to a primary care and internal medicine facility, which will include an expanded walk-in clinic.

The decision comes after two months of pickets, heated community meetings, and a lawsuit filed by UNAP.

Under the agreement, close to 200 jobs will be saved. Memorial would provide outpatient services through existing facilities on the hospital’s campus.

Fewer hospital visits were costing CNE $2-million every month, while outpatient visits were increasing, according to a CNE spokesperson.

"We anticipate the same set of patients will come, we’ll be secure, and we actually think we can grow the number of patients being served there," Dr. James Fanale, CNE Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, told ABC6 News.

Of the hospital’s 600 employees, roughly 300 will be without a job, according to Fanale. Another 100 or so have since retired or already have jobs lined up.

Reaching this agreement was not easy and both sides have different recollections.

"We were not getting the time of day prior to that filing of the lawsuit,” said UNAP General Counsel Chris Callaci. “So it was not a coincidence that once we filed it, we heard from Care New England."

"We had not sat to talk to them,” Fanale admitted, “But we had been working through this process all along, really adhering to the regulatory process."

Now both sides are optimistic about the changes ahead.

"I think that this serves the community well," Fanale said.

"That’s what we were after from the beginning, is to preserves services and jobs,” said Callaci, adding: “It’s too bad it took that long, but we got there."

This agreement still hinges on the Rhode Island Department of Health, which has the final say in whether the hospital can be shut down. The hospital had previously filed applications to shut down inpatient and emergency department services.