Harrington Hospital is now staffing its emergency departments in Southbridge and Webster with a physicians group associated with Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
The new staffing went into effect Oct. 1, with Harrington announcing it Tuesday and saying the transition does not include any staff reductions or layoffs.
All emergency department providers who were Harrington employees became members of the Associated Physicians of Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians, a physicians group at Beth Israel in Boston. Nursing staff and nurse managers remain as Harrington HealthCare system employees.
Harrington’s emergency departments in Southbridge and Webster see an average of 42,000 patient visits per year. Harrington said it didn’t expect any disruption to patient care during the staff affiliation change.
The hospital said it evaluated its emergency department staffing following a critical shortage of physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Partnering with the Harvard/Beth Israel group allowed Harrington to bring on new staff more quickly than it would have been able to otherwise, said Ed Moore, Harrington’s president and CEO.
Harrington has already staffed its diagnosing imaging department with radiologists from the the Harvard/Beth Israel group since 2007.
The Harvard/Beth Israel group, whose physicians are faculty at Harvard Medical School, also manages the emergency department at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester.
