A Taunton hospital sold by Steward Health Care under its bankruptcy proceedings could be closing its addiction support services program. Morton Hospital will be taken over by LifeSpan, the largest health care provider in Rhode Island.
Julie Pinkham, executive director of the Massachusetts Nurses Association and member of the Health Policy Commission Advisory Council, shared the news with the council Thursday. She says staff are now scrambling to save the program in the next few business days. A bankruptcy judge deemed that the sales must happen by Sept. 30, or the buyers can back out.
“We have exactly 36 hours to somehow resolve that problem for the employees there, of which 23 are nurses and health professionals,” she said, noting that additional staff also work the unit. “Never mind the impact to the community who’s leaving those services in a matter of less than 48 hours. So this whole thing has been a bit of a cluster.”…