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NATICK – MetroWest Medical Center announced today, march 12, that, after careful consideration and planning, it will delay the closure of acute care services at Leonard Morse Hospital to better support the community during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The public hearing that was to be held by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on March 18 on the closure of acute care services will be postponed.
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“I am pleased that Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick will remain open for the foreseeable future to serve the community and its residents,” stated Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland), whose district includes Natick. “As we seek to ensure we have increased health care capacity while we face a global pandemic, this was the right decision and I commend Tenet – Massachusetts for its quick response.”
Both campuses of MetroWest Medical Center, Leonard Morse Hospital and Framingham Union Hospital, are monitoring information from federal, state and local public health agencies for current information on COVID-19. The hospitals have taken the appropriate steps to prepare for COVID-19, including training staff and obtaining the necessary equipment to treat it and protect staff.
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As with any communicable disease, as patients enter the hospitals in areas such as the emergency department or registration, hospital staff question all of their recent travel and symptoms. We evaluate relevant symptom criteria and implement contact airborne isolation, if required, without delay. Our clinical teams are in constant review of infection prevention processes and update patient screenings as recommended by the CDC.
“Our goal has always been to do what is best for our community, and we recognize that during this outbreak of COVID-19, we want to provide an additional access point to emergency care, inpatient services, and critical care services for those who may need us,” said Andrew Harding, CEO of MetroWest Medical Center. “We will revisit our plans to close acute care services at Leonard Morse Hospital at a future date but not until this crisis has passed.”
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In January, MetroWest Medical Center notified the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that it was narrowing the focus of the Leonard Morse Hospital campus to behavioral health care.
The vision for the Leonard Morse Hospital campus is to become a unique behavioral health specialty center dedicated to the mental health of our community for child, adolescent, adult and geriatric psychiatric care. Behavioral health is a challenge in our community, and the goal is to optimize the services at Leonard Morse Hospital to help address the issue.
Due to the anticipated need in the community for acute care services related to COVID-19, however, MetroWest is pausing closure of acute care services to help meet the community’s health care needs.
MetroWest Medical Center