National Nurses United

A P R I L | M AY 2 0 1 4 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9 MASSACHUSETTS O n tuesday, March 25, Massa- chusetts Nurses Associa- tion/NNU members at North Adams Regional Hospital (NARH) and the region of 38,000 residents served by the hospital received shocking news, as the hospital management and Board of Trustees called a meeting at 2 p.m. to announce they were closing the hospital on Friday, just three days later. NARH is a 36-bed community hospital that provides desperately needed emergency and inpatient care to an isolated, rural community in the northwest corner of the state. With the closing, more than 500 employees and 100 nurses were thrown out of work and their community left without healthcare. The nearest facilities are a 30- to 45-minute drive away, in good traffic. "It is outrageous to close this hospital so abruptly with no plan in place for the patients impacted by this callous decision," said Robin Simonetti, RN, co-chair of the bargaining unit there. "The nurses and this community are committed to do whatever is necessary to preserve this vital community resource." The announcement rocked the commu- nity and stymied policy makers at the local, state, and federal level as it was in direct violation of Massachusetts state law which requires at least 90 days' notice and a public hearing prior to the closing of a healthcare facility. MNA/NNU actually drafted and led the fight to pass the law 18 years earlier. In response, MNA/NNU swung into action, led by an energized membership that was not going to go down without a fight. In the ensuing weeks, the campaign, which is still in high gear, included a community- wide and statewide effort to restore the hospital. The effort began with community mobi- lization, involving hundreds of residents attending weekly community meetings to work together to restore this hospital. It included an effort to occupy the hospital, through the Friday closing, and only ended when local, state, and county police converged on the hospital on March 28 to shutter the facility. While state officials were reluctant to take immediate action, a series of rallies, pickets, and widely publicized demonstra- tions organized by MNA forced the gover- nor, attorney general, and Health and Human Services officials to go to North Adams to work on a plan to restore at least emergency service at the hospital. A petition drive was launched that gener- ated more than 12,000 signatures in a matter of two weeks. MNA/NNU then organized a bus caravan from North Adams filled with nurses, employees, and commu- nity members who made a first stop at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency to call for the state to treat this clos- ing as a public health disaster, and then proceeded to the Statehouse in Boston to deliver the petitions to the governor and speakers of the House and Senate, calling for immediate action to restore a full-service hospital for this embattled community. State and local media have been exten- sively covering the nurses' fight to save North Adams Regional Hospital. Two news- papers have published editorials supporting and praising the nurses' efforts. "The fact that nurses are willing to trek to the State- house to make the case to reopen the bank- rupt facility shows they care – not just about their livelihoods, but about the lives of the people served by the hospital," wrote the editors of the Springfield Republican. As you drive through the communities surrounding the hospital, evidence of resi- dents' support for the campaign is every- where. The landscape is dotted with lawn signs created and distributed by the MNA, a banner hangs from City Hall, storefronts showcase signs, and cars feature bumper stickers that send the message: "Save Our Hospital, Protect Our Community." Even the local movie marquee features the message. Community meetings held every Tuesday are packed to overflowing with hundreds filling the standing-room-only legion hall. As this story goes to print, the legal hurdles are being crossed to reopen a satel- lite emergency department at the facility, with the ultimate goal of restoring the full- service hospital this community has depended on for more than a century. In May, an MNA report found that a full- service hospital is financially viable in Northern Berkshire County, but that a series of bad investments by hospital management led to the facility's closure. —David Schildmeier North Adams Regional Hospital abruptly closed, nurses and community fight to restore services

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