The impacts of a decision by Steward Health Care to close two hospitals in Massachusetts will hit patients harder than anyone else.
“She’ll die...she won’t eat.”
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They're words Marsha Smith never thought she’d say in reference to her friend of over 40 years, Colette. Smith says her friend used to be active, participating in outdoor activities like hiking and skiing until about three years ago when the 84-year-old broke her hip falling out of the tub.
Here in Boston residents know Colette for her legal prowess. She's called "The Barracuda" by those familiar with her work.
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“She was one of the few female top lawyers in Boston for many years,” Smith reminisced.
After Colette’s fall, she spent time at Massachusetts General Hospital which later filed a petition of guardianship for her. After Colette was declared incompetent in Massachusetts Superior Court, she spent time at a Braintree Nursing Home before being transferred to Carney Hospital, where she’s been the past year. NBC10 Boston is withholding Colette's last name due to that medical declaration.
“I don’t think she belongs there. She’s old she’s getting forgetful at times but she is still very sharp," Smith said.
Smith has visited Colette every other day since she was hospitalized at Mass General. But if she is moved to a new location, that will become more difficult.
On Wednesday the hospital informed Smith that Colette would be relocated to Morton Hospital in Taunton in preparation for the hospital’s closure at the end of the month.
“I would probably get there at least once a week if someone could drive me to Taunton but I don’t drive on the expressway, I don’t drive on the turnpike,” said Smith.
Weeks ago, Steward Health Care officially announced plans to close Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer by the end of August. Smith now finds her dear friend of 40 years caught in the crossfire of a financial crisis plaguing the health care system since it declared bankruptcy earlier this year.
The news worried Smith who told NBC10 Boston, “To do this to her with no notice at all endangers her life,”
Thankfully Smith says a state official intervened to relocate Colette to a nursing home in the area. It's not yet clear where she will wind up, but her friends say they entire situation has created even more stress on the patient.
State and local leaders are pushing to keep the hospitals open. The Boston City Council on Wednesday voted to call for a public health emergency, hoping to put more pressure on the state to find a solution.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has said there is nothing she can do to prevent the two hospitals from closing and said Wednesday that she trying to keep the remaining Steward hospitals in the state open.
