UMass Memorial to close MRI lab; 50 jobs in doubt

UMass Memorial Health Center's Memorial Campus

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UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) will close one of its MRI imaging labs in April, which could result in the loss of 50 jobs.

UMMMC said in a statement Monday that it will sell most of its MRI imaging assets held by the Central Massachusetts MRI and Imaging Center (CMMIC) to the UMass Memorial MRI & Imaging Center (UMMIC), which is a joint venture between UMMIC and Shields Health Care Group. The medical center declined to disclose the sale price.

The joint venture plans to close CMMIC’s MRI imaging facility at One Biotech Park on April 1, but will keep the CMMIC facility at the medical center’s University campus open. UMMIC already operates imaging facilities at the medical center’s Memorial Campus and on Shrewsbury Street.

All 50 CMMIC employees will lose their jobs as a result of the sale, according to hospital spokesman Robert Brogna.

But some CMMIC employees could be hired back by the joint venture – which will become responsible for operating the imaging facility at the University campus – or throughout the Shields network.

“As Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reimbursement rates have been in decline and pressure on MRI volumes have been mounting, we examined our cost structure for providing high-quality imaging services to our patients and determined that consolidating our facilities made sense,” Brogna said in a statement.

The latest announcement means that UMMMC has eliminated or reduced 353 positions since October, when the hospital reported an annual operating loss of $55 million.