Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, R.I., part of Providence, R.I.-based Care New England, will close its emergency department Jan. 1 and "no longer function as a hospital," according to the Rhode Island Department of Health.
To cease hospital services, the department of health is requiring the health system to (a) open a walk-in clinic in Pawtucket, (b) provide $300,000 to Pawtucket and $200,000 to Central Falls, R.I., each year for two years to offset emergency medical services costs associated with transporting patients to other hospitals, (c) maintain family care and internal medicine centers in Pawtucket, (d) invest $100,000 each year in the Pawtucket and Central Falls Health Equity Zones, and (e) provide affected staff with outplacement and career transition services.
CNE filed an application in November with the Rhode Island Department of Health to close Memorial Hospital after a deal to sell the facility to Prime Healthcare Foundation, the Ontario, Calif.-based nonprofit arm of Prime Healthcare Services, fell through.
CNE shuttered Memorial Hospital's intensive care unit in early November, and the Rhode Island Department of Health subsequently ordered the hospital to stop admitting patients, performing surgeries and accepting emergency patients due to patient safety concerns.
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