ER Closes Four Days After Filing
North Adams Regional Hospital has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy through its parent company, Northern Berkshire Health Systems, leaving thousands of area residents without nearby emergency services.
The western Massachusetts hospital closed its doors on March 28, 2014, four days after filing bankruptcy, putting several hundred of employees out of work, and leaving thousands of residents without a nearby emergency room. The bankruptcy will lead to liquidation and sale of the hospital’s assets and dissolution of Northern Berkshire Health Systems through a court-appointed trustee.
According to Mary Beckman, Chief of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Public Charities Division, the hospital’s closure has forced ambulance services to exhaust more staff, equipment, and medicine to handle what can be up to an hour-long trip for some residents to the closest medical sites. Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, is 22 miles south of North Adams Hospital, and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center is located 18 miles north in Bennington, Vermont.
State and Local Officials Scramble To Open Emergency Room
State officials filed a Berkshire Superior Court injunction to prevent the hospital from liquidating assets necessary to operate the emergency department. A temporary restraining order would provide the means for Berkshire Medical Center to begin the process of re-opening emergency services.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley argued for an extension of the restraining order to ensure some stability of healthcare to nearby residents. According to Northern Berkshire Health System attorney John Rogers, Berkshire Medical Center has received access to the hospital building and medical records, and 143 employees had already been hired to provide services at the hospital.
A delegation of nurses from North Adams Hospital met outside the U.S. District Court during the hearing. The nurses, along with the community of North Adams, called for the immediate restoration of Adams as a full-service hospital to serve the more than 38,000 residents who are currently without any health care services, Reuter’s wire service reported.
Federal Bankruptcy Law Trumps State Efforts
Attorney Daniel C. Cohn, representing Northern Berkshire Healthcare Systems, said that his client wanted the talks of reopening the emergency department to continue, but federal bankruptcy proceedings trump the judge’s authority.
Cohn explained that no one can make decisions regarding hospital property until a federal trustee is assigned. “Really, there is nothing for this court to do,” he said. “There is no one who has legal power to deal with the state’s complaint.”
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office argues that the public health emergency created by the hospital closure takes precedent. “We are reacting to a difficult situation not of our making,” said Bart Hollander, Chief of the Western Massachusetts Regional Office for Attorney General Martha Coakley.
The court also accepted intervenor status for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, representing more than 100 registered nurses at Northern Berkshire Healthcare Systems, and Wells Fargo, a senior creditor.
The restraining order will stay in effect pending the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee and any agreements between the parties. A bankruptcy trustee would have to the authority to deal with patient records or the mortgage on the property held by the bondholders — including any leasing agreements for Berkshire Medical Center reopening the emergency room.
Original Bankruptcy Filed in 2011
North Adams Regional Hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011, emerging with a court-approved reorganization plan in 2012. According to a filed report, some debtors from before 2011 have not yet been paid. Although the state-court order may allow North Adams Hospital emergency services to resume under Berkshire Medical Center, the federal bankruptcy laws protect filers from creditors and lawsuits.
At the time of its closing, North Adams Regional Hospital provided 109 beds, and employed 530 full and part-time workers. In addition to its emergency room, the hospital offered visiting nurses for home care and a hospice staff.