Pawtucket and Central Falls Request Department of Health Move Forward with Memorial Hospital Plans

PAWTUCKET – Mayor Donald R. Grebien and Central Falls Mayor James Diossa
requested that the Rhode Island Department of Health continue to move forward with
the conditions that they placed upon Care New England to ensure health care services
remain in the community and residents have access.

The Mayors requested an update on the implementation of the conditions, including:
the opening of a walk-in clinic; details for constituents regarding the
transportation plans and Family Care and Internal Medicine Centers; and the hiring
of an independent consultant. In addition, the conditions placed upon Care New
England required the convening of a stakeholder group to touch upon these issues in
addition to exploring and proposing immediate innovative solutions and/or pilot
programs to lessen the impact of the closure of the hospital’s emergency department
on the impacted communities.

«Our residents, health care providers and elected officials, made it abundantly
clear how critical it was for our community to have access to health care services
locally and the hardship any reduction or closure would put on their already
stressful conditions,» said Mayor Grebien. «The Department of Health took these
issues seriously and imposed conditions that will keep primary and urgent care here
in Pawtucket. We are eager to see these plans move forward immediately.»

«Access to health in Central Falls and Pawtucket has always been and will continue
to be our main priority throughout the Memorial Hospital process. The Department of
Health did the right thing by listening to our residents,» stated Mayor Diossa. «It
is important that the conditions that were placed are followed through and that the
residents of our cities are informed as soon and as frequently as possible.»

On December 28, 2017, the Department of Health approved Care New England’s request
to close Memorial Hospital’s emergency room. The Mayors, the Pawtucket and Central
Falls Delegation, and the City Councils have been working with the Department and
the Governor to preserve the health care services provided at the existing hospital
and address the long-term needs and impact to our communities.