DPH: Framingham Union’s neonatal unit, which is scheduled to close, is medically necessary to the region

PHOTO | WBJ FILE Framingham Union Hospital is part of the two-hospital campus of MetroWest Medical Center, which also includes Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick.

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By Mica Kanner-Mascolo

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has determined Framingham Union Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit is medically necessary to the region, and regulators are now demanding the hospital return a plan outlining how it will continue to meet community needs, following its plans to close the unit.

Framingham Union has until May 9 to prepare a plan explaining how the hospital’s special care nursery services will be maintained for the residents of its service area, according to an April 24 letter from Stephen Davis, director of DPH’s Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification.

The notice comes after DPH held an April 9 public hearing on the hospital’s upcoming closure of its 12-bassinet Special Care Level IIB Nursery on June 10. A Level IIB unit offers advanced neonatal care for babies born with special healthcare needs, including prematurity, respiratory problems, congenital disorders, and infections, according to MetroWest Medical Center’s website, of which Framingham Union is part of its two-hospital network.

MetroWest Medical Center and Framingham Union are owned by parent company Tenet Healthcare, based in Dallas.

Tenet did not return WBJ’s request for comment.

“As a result of its review, the department has made a finding that the services provided by the Hospital are in fact necessary for preserving access and health status within the Hospital’s service area,” said Davis in the letter.

Consequently, Framingham Union is required to submit to DPH a plan explaining five regulatory concerns and six concerns raised during testimonials at the department’s public hearing. The concern range from detailing the location of alternate care sites to meeting the linguistic needs of patients to recruit and retain local OB/GYN practitioners.

DPH confirmed with WBJ it is still awaiting a response from Framingham Union.

Framingham Union originally announced plans in early April to close one of its NICU units, with John Whitlock, MetroWest CEO, citing declining utilization rates and difficulty recruiting and retaining neonatologists and neonatal nurses.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association labor union, which represents the nurses at Framingham Union, has decried the hospital’s decision to close its neonatal unit, stating the closure will disproportionately affect mothers and children specifically from poorer communities and communities of color.

“Let's be clear, there's no justification for Tenet Healthcare … [to] be going into communities with high-risk mothers and taking away care that they need, that could save them or their babies lives. No justification for it. It's obscene,” David Schildmeier, the MNA’s director of public communications, said to WBJ.

Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.