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Major sections of Massachusetts health care system in crisis, considered “high risk”
Alison Kuznitz
Major swaths of the state’s health care system are now considered “high risk,” with the crisis largely fueled by a major backlog of patients waiting to be discharged from hospitals, the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association said Monday.
MHA indicated the situation is exacerbated by serious financial challenges at Steward Health Care, which on Friday said it doesn’t plan to close any of its safety-net hospitals in Massachusetts but hinted some facilities may eventually come under new ownership.
The Department of Public Health elevated the risk level of two medical regions — the Boston metropolitan area and northeastern Massachusetts — to Tier 3 last week, a designation that might result in hospitals slashing “elective, non-urgent procedures and services,” MHA said. A spokesperson for DPH said the new tier itself wouldn’t result in service reductions, but it’s a potential strategy that can be deployed to deal with capacity constraints.
Hospitals with the designation must also meet frequently to discuss bed availability, MHA said.
“It is indeed a crisis for those on the frontlines and the public can play a role in helping to alleviate the stresses hospitals are under,” Patricia Noga, MHA’s vice president of clinical affairs, said in the group’s newsletter Monday. “It’s imperative to seek the right care in the right place. Emergency departments will see any patient in need of care, but they are designed to handle severe illnesses and injuries that can’t be addressed in the primary or urgent care setting. Going elsewhere when appropriate saves you time and ensures that patients with true emergencies get the care they need, when they need it.”
The state makes its decisions about risk level tiering, using a scale of 0 to 4, based on risk factors such as a spike in certain diseases, staffing problems, emergency department usage and bed availability. DPH, in an alert sent to providers, said the new risk levels were being issued “in order to assure good situational awareness and rapid response for capacity constraints and workforce challenges.”
Other parts of the state, including southeastern Massachusetts and the Cape and Islands, have been assigned to Tier 3 since the start of 2023. The state in January outlined an agreement among hospitals, insurers and long-term care settings designed to more smoothly and efficiently move patients through hospitals.
The capacity crunch at hospitals is “made even more precarious due to the unstable finances and uncertainty surrounding the Steward Health Care system,” MHA said.
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RedPilled
February 6, 2024 at 6:26 am
We kicked out the homeless from shelters to house illegals. The homeless now seek shelter at your local hospital. The hospital is not a homeless shelter yet that’s where they are told to go. Then add hospital beds that are occupied by illegals and lastly the vaccine mandate created huge shortage of healthcare workers. It’s a disaster in th making
Antifa is smarter than fascist MAGAt's
February 6, 2024 at 11:27 am
Wow how is to be so stupidly ignorant? The problem is lack of help. It has nothing to do with the refugees that you seem to hate so much like the hater you are. The problem is a health worker shortage. Many nurses retired if they could during the pandemic because they were sick of treating stupid people for serious illness when we had a very safe vaccination that worked. They were sick of watching stupid people die and their families grieving. You know the people that believe bullshit over science and get suckered like you.
The Senate has a proposal that the border guards like but apparently Trump thinks it’s not really a problem anymore and it can wait until he becomes dictator again. This bill provides funding to expedite the return of those who don’t deserve to stay which is one of the biggest problems now because it takes years to get a hearing! Then we have all the Chinese coming in that we can’t return because China won’t take them. There’s also money for the states to help offset the expense. But hey the Republicans like to cut the taxes of the super rich and corporations because they donate to their super packs large amounts of money so they can work in their favor and not ours.
The52ndIntelligenceAgent
February 6, 2024 at 4:01 pm
Antifa is a Ukrainian tard bot programmed by Klaus Schwab at the WEF and Davos. Funny part is that this retard thinks he’s part of the elite globalist satanic cabal. He will also become soylent green. No problem sending $200,000,000,000 to Nazis in Ukraine because his Savior Crackhead Joe Biden gets a 10% cut. If you are an American you deserve no reprieve from oppressive taxation, just bend over to fascist Antifasistas. These are the fantastical rantings of a delusional Bolchevik.
Mr. K.
February 6, 2024 at 1:44 pm
Life’s a b**ch sometimes.