RI Dept. of Health: No need to panic as Memorial Hospital prepares to close

By: Chloe Leshner

Email: cleshner@abc6.com

Twitter: CLeshnerABC6

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — The closure of Memorial Hospital will be a big change for Pawtucket and Central Falls residents in need of medical care, but on Wednesday state health officials are saying there’s no need to panic.

Authorities say Care New England has to submit a closure plan to the Department of Health outlining what they’ll do with equipment, medical records and transferring patients.

But the most pressing issue is how people in the community will get emergency services.

"What facilities will they be able to go to, how will they get there because the department of health’s priority throughout this process is to make sure that the community’s health is not compromised in anyway," said RI Department of Health spokesperson Joseph Wendelken.

The closure can happen only when the state determines the community will have the same access to quality care.

When it does, most of the work load will shift to local primary and urgent care facilities; something doctors at Blackstone Valley Community Health Care say they’re more than ready to handle.

"At least 50 percent of people who go to emergency departments didn’t need to be there anyway," said Michael Fine with Blackstone Valley Community Health Care.

With 7 facilities in the area, and work underway on a brand new "neighborhood health station" in Central Falls, they predict community health will be just fine.

"The loss of the hospital is not going to create a risk to public health. Some of us think in some ways it may protect the public health a little bit because hospitals are places where people pass diseases and they have their own dangers," added Fine.

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017