Following outcry, Healey pauses closure of two state-owned hospitals
Photo I Courtesy of SHNS/Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children
Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children in Canton
Hours before protesters are set to rally against her plans, Gov. Maura Healey on Monday night announced she's pausing her effort to close two state-run hospitals.
"Over the past few weeks, I have heard directly from patients, families and staff about the important role that Pappas Rehabilitation Hospitals for Children and Pocasset Mental Health Center play in their communities," the governor said in a statement issued at 6:25 p.m. "I'm deeply grateful for their feedback, as well as for the hard work of our teams at the Department of Public Health and the Department of Mental Health, who are focused on ensuring that all patients receive the high-quality, modernized, specialized care they need and deserve. At this time, I've directed them to pause their plans to close Pappas and Pocasset so that we can bring together a diverse group of stakeholders - including patients, families, labor, local officials, and medical professionals - to conduct a further review of the care offered at these facilities and make recommendations on the best path forward to ensure we are providing the highest quality of care with the resources at hand."
Opponents of Healey's hospital closure plans planned to rally Tuesday morning on the State House steps and also oppose her plan to lay off 170 Department of Mental Health case managers.
Organizers have also planned a legislative briefing and media availability with families and students from Pappas, and the delivery of a petition, signed by more than 17,500 people, to the governor's office.
The rally is still on, according to organizers, as well as a media availability with the Pappas families.
"We see this as an encouraging step for the preservation of both facilities, and we look forward to working with the families, caregivers policymakers and all stakeholders to ensure that these facilities are permanently preserved and that those impacted by these services have a seat at the table to ensure the proper investments are made to continue and hopefully expand care for the most vulnerable in the Commonwealth, and this includes restoring cuts proposed to case management services," said Massachusetts Nurses Association spokesman David Schildmeier.
Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, said the union was "encouraged and grateful" that the listened to concerns about the planned closures and decided to pause the effort.
"We will continue to advocate for long term investment in our mental health resources and infrastructure," Lynch said. "We remain deeply concerned about the ongoing proposal to layoff 170 Department of Mental Health caseworkers and increase GIC costs for tens of thousands of active state employees and retirees. As the House and Senate begin their FY26 budget debates, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO will continue to advocate for a budget that prioritizes care, not cuts."
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