Health

HE A LTH • Summer 2022 13 A Boston expansion, thwarted Earlier this year, Mass General Brigham Hospital of Boston withdrew proposals for ambulatory outpatient centers in Westborough and Woburn and to expand an existing facility in Westwood after Mass. Department of Public Health officials would not recommend approval. According to DPH, acute care hospitals differ from ambulatory outpatient facilities as they must contain a majority of medical-surgical, pediatric, obstetric, and maternity beds for general purpose use. An ambulatory setting might be a non-medical facility like a school or nursing home, but it includes clinics and medical settings typically dealing with non- emergency issues. MGB had described the proposals as a way to allow its existing patients to receive services closer to home and at a lower cost. But they were scrapped after fierce opposition by organizations banded together as the Coalition to Protect Community Care. These groups included UMass Memorial Health, Wellforce in Boston, the Massachusetts Nurses Association union, Health Care for All, and chambers of commerce representing Worcester, Marlborough, Stoneham, Medford, and Melrose. The coalition argued the plan would hurt local providers financially. The state's Health Policy Commission in January told DPH's determination of need program that MGB's expansion plans were likely to "drive substantial patient volume and revenue to the higher-cost MGB system, particularly commercially insured volume, and likely away from other lower-cost providers." MGB officials disputed the commission's findings, which differed from a December cost analysis conducted as part of the determination of need process. The December analysis projected the ambulatory care centers would result in a small overall decrease in healthcare spending. "After learning from the Department of Public Health that our proposal would not be recommended for approval, Mass General Brigham has withdrawn its proposal," said Anne Klibanski, president and CEO of Mass General Brigham. "Mass General Brigham remains dedicated to transforming care delivery so that our patients receive the right care in the right place at a lower cost." Because when you have a few different medical record systems, not every provider is getting access to the same information. So you can have scenarios where patients will need duplicate tests or have to get seen twice because records were not carried over to another provider. EPIC solves this by creating a main platform for providers." Such cost-cutting benefits are just one of the many reasons Heywood is seeking to be the latest hospital to join the UMass Memorial system, which last completed an affiliation in July, with Harrington Healthcare of Southbridge. The proposed affiliation is expected to take up to one year to complete, following a regulatory review and approval process. "The pandemic has definitely hit stand-alone hospitals very hard" said Winfield Brown, president & CEO of Heywood Healthcare. "We're a community hospital, but it can be a struggle to provide for the community when you're operating under staffing and financial pressures. So by affiliating with the UMass Memorial system, we're ensuring a more sound future for both our patients and excellent medical providers." If UMass and Heywood were to merge then Milford Regional Medical Center will be the only independent hospital in the region. "It's about sustainability," said Winfield Brown. "Affiliating with UMass Memorial provides us a more clear outlook as hospitals are under enormous strain right now." Milford Regional Medical Center will soon be the last independently owned hospital in Central Massachusetts. PHOTO | TMS AERIAL SOLUTIONS Rising costs 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Drug Labor Supply 36.9% 19.1% 20.6% Increases in U.S. hospital expenses per patient, 2019 to 2021 Source: American Hospital Association Total increase of 20.1% H PHOTO | GRANT WELKER

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