Hospital Officials Sight Recent Patient Flow As The Main Issue
After 124 years of service to the community, Quincy Medical Center is planning to close its doors. The announcement was made by senior members of Steward Healthcare, the company that bought the hospital in a bankruptcy auction in 2011, when it had filed for Chapter 11.
The Quincy Medical Center, located a short drive south of Boston, has been reported to have lost close to $20 million in 2013. Officials connected with the hospital are projecting similar numbers for 2014. This, they claim, is the reason behind Quincy’s impending shutdown.
Patients Opting For Other Area Hospitals
A spokesperson for the Quincy Medical Center was quick to point out that the financial worries in which they find themselves is not due to mismanagement. Rather, says the hospital spokesperson, it’s the result of many potential patients making different choices in their mode of health care. In previous years people would go to the Quincy Medical Center for both inpatient and outpatient services. Recently, there has been a significant shift in opting for the larger hospitals located in Boston, or close by towns, for inpatient services.
Steward Healthcare made several attempts at righting the already struggling hospital. With investments upwards of $100 million, they were trying to help Quincy Medical Center get back on its feet as a profitable health care provider. In spite of all this, the decision was reached that the medical center should be closed.
The Only Hospital In Quincy
Quincy, with over 90,000 residents, contains only one hospital. People in the town have been making use of Quincy Medical Center for almost 125 years. For now, they will have to visit the neighboring towns or nearby Boston, if they seek a full line of health care services.
With nearly 700 employees working at Quincy Medical Center, the local hospital provided a huge economic boost to the otherwise working class city. Besides for providing jobs for many locals, and paying millions of dollars in taxes to the city, it also attracted businesses to establish themselves near the hospital. As a result of Quincy Medical Center’s plans to close, it will certainly affect the entire city on a number of levels.
Steward Healthcare has claimed that it will ensure continued payment of all of their workers for the next two months, while at the same time help placing them in open positions that are available in other parts of Steward’s system.
There are plans already being discussed regarding the opening of an emergency room for the benefit of Quincy’s residents. This would ensure that the town has some 24-hour medical service in the city, which will soon become the biggest city in the state without a hospital.