Codman CEO: Carney’s abrupt closure means ‘people will die’

An ambulance siren shattered the quiet scene near Carney Hospital in Dorchester on Tuesday morning, but the vehicle did not stop at the shuttered facility that now lacks emergency signs or even nameplates.

The large blue signs outside Carney that once identified the hospital and its bankrupt owner, Steward Health Care, are now blank.

At the entrances, multilingual signs warn unsuspecting patients seeking medical care that the hospital is closed and the nearest hospital is 2.1 miles away in Milton. The signs indicate that 911 should be called in case of emergency and an ambulance is temporarily stationed outside Carney to help ease the transition and make necessary transfers to nearby facilities.

A door from the hospital wing to the rear of the building was blocked by an orange barrier and a bench.

Most of the visible activity at Carney was taking place in the back of the hospital, where the Seton Medical Building, which includes the doctors’ offices, remains open. Willard Maitland, who had just visited his family doctor at the medical building, said he was headed to Milton to get blood work done since Carney is no longer an option.

Maitland, who has lived in Dorchester for nearly 30 years, said he had never been to another emergency room. He had undergone three surgeries at Carney. His wife and four children have also relied on Carney, Maitland said.

“It’s not that hard to drive to Milton, but I’ve never been there. That’s going to be the closest one, other than Boston Medical Center, but this is the closest one,” said Maitland, 67, pointing to Carney. “I don’t know what will happen to the next generation, but I think it should be here for people like me, older people who don’t want to be too far from the hospital.”

Maitland said it takes him less than 10 minutes to drive to Carney.

“Ten minutes can save a life,” Maitland said, noting that travel to other hospitals could take more than double or triple the time.

The ripple effects of the Carney closure — one of two Steward hospitals that closed in Massachusetts on Saturday — are yet to be seen in Milton.

“Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Milton is deeply committed to providing care in our community, including patients impacted by the closure of Carney Hospital,” said Rich Fernandez, president of BID Milton, in a statement. “We have taken steps to prepare for any potential surge in volume, and our priority is to ensure uninterrupted care for any patient who needs it. While we have experienced typical patient volume over the weekend, we are closely monitoring the situation as it evolves.”

At Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester, located less than a mile from Carney, health care providers are preparing for an influx of patients, including those seeking emergency care.

Dr. Guy Fish, the center’s executive director, said Codman’s urgent care clinic saw a 40 percent increase in patients last Tuesday and Wednesday, even before Carney closed. The clinic typically sees 60 to 75 patients a day, but that volume is now over 100, Fish said.

“To date, we have not received any significant support from government agencies, whether it be DPH or EOHHS. We would certainly appreciate support,” Fish said. “What we are anticipating is an increase in demand for services, which could be 30 to 50 percent, or who knows, 70 percent higher than what we typically see.”

Fish said Codman needs financial assistance to hire more workers to meet patient demand and higher reimbursement rates.

Codman also hopes to see and triage patients who previously would have gone to Carney for acute medical emergencies, including respiratory distress, chest pain, strokes, gunshot wounds and stabbings, Fish said.

“Let me be very blunt: The sudden absence of Level 4 and Level 5 services in emergency rooms means that people will die,” Fish said. “A percentage of those who could have been saved by the ability to get timely care nearby, a percentage of them will die because the time it will take them to get through Boston traffic to other facilities will be longer than the time it will take them to get life-sustaining care. That is the tragedy of the response to the implosion of Steward Hospital and the closing of Carney Hospital.”

Kimberly, who asked to be identified by her first name for privacy reasons, left the Seton building after an eye doctor’s appointment and repeatedly called Carney’s closure a “waste.” Kimberly, now in her 50s, said she has been coming to Carney’s since she was 15.

“With all the money this state has, they haven’t done anything,” he said. “This could have been a cancer center, a drug rehabilitation center, so much more than they did.”

Gov. Maura Healey has said the state could not intervene because Carney did not receive qualified bids. The administration is working to seize land at another Steward hospital, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, through eminent domain, and other Steward facilities in Massachusetts are being transferred this month to new owners.

On Tuesday morning, in front of Carney, there was some activity in the parking lot as people, including health care workers wearing scrubs, carried boxes to their cars. They declined to speak to the News Service. A security worker overseeing one of the entrances said St. Elizabeth staff were taking some equipment from Carney, while officials from the Department of Public Health were expected to come take medical records.

Diny Charlemagne, who tried to visit Carney for a medical checkup and to complete immigration paperwork, was shocked when she learned of the hospital’s fate.

“I didn’t know it was closed,” Charlemagne said, before asking the News Service when Carney’s would reopen. When informed of the permanent closure, he replied: “Wow.”

An ambulance parked outside Carney, provided by Beauport Ambulance Service which serves the North Shore and Boston, has been outside the hospital 24/7, ready to transfer other unconscious patients who thought they could remain in Dorchester for emergency care.

There have been six to 12 transfers a day from Carney, ranging from “minor illness” to “pretty serious” cases, said Eric Beaulieu, Beauport’s general manager. Healey management said Friday that ambulance service would be provided out of Carney and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer for a week following their closure.

“If the need persists, we could expand it based on operational needs,” Beaulieu said. “Basically, what we want to do is be there for the community, for the city of Boston.”

Raymonde Alexandre, who has undergone several surgeries at Carney, said closing the hospital was “not a good idea.”

“In this neighborhood, we need a hospital,” said Alexandre, a longtime Dorchester resident, as she left the Codman Square Health Center Tuesday afternoon. Reflecting on the care she received at Carney, she added, “They’ve been very good to me.”

Oliver Clarke said he had visited Carney, about a 20-minute walk from his home, hundreds of times for his medical problems. The closure was “really a disaster” and “very inconvenient,” he said.

“That hospital saved my life a number of times because I’m on blood thinners,” said Clarke, who was sitting around the corner from Codman. “I’m a little upset about that. I’ve thought about it and said if anything happened to me, Carney wouldn’t be there anymore.”

In a column for the Dorchester Reporter, Bill Walczak, former director of Codman and Carney, said Monday that the local health system lacks the capacity to fill the void left by the closed hospital.

“This is a disaster,” Walczak wrote Tuesday. “Secretary Walsh and Commissioner Goldstein should never have allowed the hospitals to close.”

“We were told there was no money to maintain services at Carney, despite $8 billion in the state’s ‘rainy day fund’ and a recent $600 million-plus settlement with the tobacco industry,” he continued. “We were told the state did not want to get into the business of running one hospital, when in fact it currently runs four hospitals. Kate and Robbie have gotten their way and Carney is now closed, leaving many residents and patients without access to health care.”

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