An ambulance siren on Tuesday morning pierced the quiet scene near Carney Hospital in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, but the vehicle didn't stop at the shuttered facility that's now devoid of emergency signs or even signs bearing its name.
Large blue boards outside Carney that previously identified the hospital and its bankrupt owner, Steward Health Care, are now blank.
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At entryways, multilingual posters now alert unsuspecting patients seeking care that the hospital is closed -- and that the nearest hospital is 2.1 miles away in Milton. The signs say to call 911 for emergencies, and an ambulance is temporarily stationed outside Carney to help ease the transition and make necessary transports to nearby facilities.
One hospital wing door toward the rear of the building was blocked by an orange barrier and a bench.
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Most of the visible activity at Carney was happening at the back of the hospital, where Seton Medical Building -- which includes physician offices -- remains open. Willard Maitland, who had just visited his primary care doctor at the medical building, said he was heading to Milton for blood work since Carney is no longer an option.
Maitland, who's lived in Dorchester almost 30 years, said he's never been to another emergency room. He's had three surgeries at Carney. His wife and four children have also relied on Carney, Maitland said.
"Driving to Milton isn't that bad, but I've never been there before. That will be the closest, apart from Boston Medical Center, but this is the closest one," Maitland, 67, said as he gestured toward Carney. "I don't know about the next generation, but I think it should be here for people like me -- old people who don't want to be too far from the hospital."
Maitland said it takes him less than 10 minutes to drive to Carney.
"Ten minutes can save a life," Maitland said, as he indicated traveling to other hospitals could take more than double or triple the time.
More on Carney Hospital's closure
The ripple effects of Carney shutting its doors -- one of two Steward hospitals to close in Massachusetts Saturday -- remain to be seen in Milton.
"Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton is deeply committed to providing care in our community including to patients impacted by the closure of Carney Hospital," Rich Fernandez, president of BID Milton, said in a statement. "We have taken steps to prepare for any potential increase in volume and our priority is ensuring uninterrupted care for any patients in need. While we have experienced a typical volume of patients over the weekend, we are closely monitoring the situation as it evolves."
At Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester, located less than a mile away from Carney, health care providers are bracing for an influx of patients, including those seeking emergency care.
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Dr. Guy Fish, the center's CEO, said Codman's urgent care clinic logged a 40% spike in patients last Tuesday and Wednesday -- before Carney even closed. The clinic typically sees 60 to 75 patients per day, but that volume is now pushing 100, Fish said.
"We have not had, to date, any meaningful support from the government agencies, whether that's DPH or EOHHS. We would certainly welcome support," Fish said. "What we're anticipating is a surge in demand for services, which could be anywhere from 30 to 50, to who knows, 70% greater than what we normally see."
Fish said Codman needs financial assistance to hire more workers to keep up with patient demand, and higher reimbursement rates.
Codman is also expecting to see and triage patients who would have previously gone to Carney for acute medical emergencies, including for respiratory distress, chest pain, strokes, gunshot wounds and stabbings, Fish said.
"Let me be very frank: The sudden absence of ER level 4 and level 5 services means that people will die," Fish said. "Some percentage of those who could have been saved because of the ability to get timely care close by, some percentage of those will die because the time it takes to get through Boston traffic to other centers will be greater than the time that they have to have life-sustaining care delivered. That is the tragedy of the response to the Steward hospital implosion and the Carney hospital closure."
As Kimberly, who asked to be identified by her first name for privacy reasons, exited the Seton building after an eye doctor's appointment, she repeatedly called the Carney closure a "waste." Now in her 50s, Kimberly said she's been coming to Carney since she was 15 years old.
"All this money this state has, they didn't do anything," she said. "This could have been a cancer center. This could have been a drug rehab. This could have been so much more than what they did."
Gov. Maura Healey has said the state couldn't intervene since Carney did not receive qualified bids. The administration is working to seize land at another Steward hospital, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton, through eminent domain, and other Steward facilities in Massachusetts are being transferred this month to new owners.
In front of Carney Tuesday morning, there was some muted activity in the parking lot, as people -- including health care workers wearing scrubs -- carried boxes to their cars. They declined to speak to the News Service. A security worker overseeing one of the entrances said that St. Elizabeth's personnel were taking away some equipment from Carney, while Department of Public Health officials were expected to come and take away medical records.
Diny Charlemagne, who attempted to visit Carney for a medical exam and to fill out immigration paperwork, was shocked when he learned about the hospital's fate.
"I didn't know it was closed," Charlemagne said, before asking the News Service when Carney would reopen. Informed of the permanent closure, he responded, "Oh, wow."
An ambulance posted outside Carney, provided by Beauport Ambulance Service that serves the North Shore and Boston, has been outside the hospital 24/7, ready to transfer other unaware patients who thought they could remain in Dorchester for emergency care.
There have been six to 12 transports each day from Carney, ranging from "minor illnesses" to "pretty acute" cases, said Eric Beaulieu, Beauport's general manager. The Healey administration said Friday that ambulance service would be provided outside Carney and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer for one week following their closures.
"If the need is still there, we might extend it depending on operational needs," Beaulieu said. "Basically for us, we want to be there for the community, for the City of Boston."
Raymonde Alexandre, who's had several surgeries at Carney, said closing the hospital is "not a good idea."
"Because in this neighborhood, we need a hospital," Alexandre, a longtime Dorchester resident, said as she left Codman Square Health Center Tuesday afternoon. Reflecting on her care at Carney, she added, "They've been very good for me."
Oliver Clarke said he's visited Carney, about a 20-minute walk from home, hundreds of times for his medical issues. The closure is "really messed up" and "very inconvenient," he said.
"That hospital saved my life a few times because I'm on blood thinner," said Clarke, who was sitting around the corner from Codman. "I am kind of upset about it. I have thought about it and said if anything happened to me, Carney's not up there no more."
In a Dorchester Reporter column, Bill Walczak, the former head of Codman and Carney, said Monday that the local health care system lacks the capacity to fill the void left by the closed hospital.
"This is a disaster," Walczak wrote Tuesday. "Secretary Walsh and Commissioner Goldstein should never have allowed the hospitals to close."
"We were told there was no money to maintain services at the Carney, despite $8 billion in the state’s 'rainy day fund,' and a recent $600+ million settlement with the tobacco industry," he continued. "We were told that the state didn’t want to get into the business of running a hospital, when, in fact, it currently runs four hospitals. Kate and Robbie have gotten their way, and the Carney is now closed, leaving many residents and patients without health care recourse."
