Tufts-New England Medical Center (Tufts-NEMC) and New England Baptist Hospital (NEBH) are joining up to build a new hospital in the Boston suburbs.
Brooke Tyson-Hynes, a spokesperson representing both hospitals, said the idea was the result of a partnership between Chief Executive of Tufts-NEMC Ellen Zane and Chief Executive of NEBH Joseph Dionisio.
"[They] have a great working relationship, and with both Tufts-NEMC and NEBH being Tufts teaching hospitals, they realized that they wanted to have a partnership together and look into a hospital in the suburbs," Tyson-Hynes said.
Both Zane and Dionisio realized that many patients travel from the suburbs into downtown Boston for illness or emergencies. According to Tyson-Hynes, as many as 160,000 patients in eastern Massachusetts drive into the city for care at academic medical centers.
"There's a maldistribution of hospital beds, with a surplus in the city, and an insufficient capacity in the suburbs," she said. "The hospitals want to take acute care out to the people who need it so that they don't have to drive in and they can get care conveniently."
In addition to addressing demand, Tyson-Hynes said, a suburban hospital presents a great opportunity for both Tufts-NEMC and NEBH.
"[The organizations] can offer patients a chance to get acute care close to home, which not only fits the mission of both hospitals of meeting patient need, but also allows both hospitals to grow," she said.
Tyson-Hynes said that NEBH needed to grow but was limited by the significant physical constraints of its current campus.
"When we looked at our future plans of where both organizations wanted to grow, there was an opportunity to bring services to people in the suburbs closer to their home, which is more convenient, and in addition, will increase market share for both organizations," she said.
Still, there are few definitive plans for the hospital yet, Tyson-Hynes said. "We're still in the planning stages on the initiative, so we're looking for a site, and we'll be able to make more decisions about the services the hospital will offer when the site is decided on," she said.
Tyson-Hynes said that Tufts-NEMC and NEBH sent out a request for proposals to real estate developers in the area to see what properties are available. "We're open right now to the right community where it fits for the hospital's needs, as well as the community's needs. We have a lot of interested parties," she said.
Tyson-Hynes said that once a site is chosen, Tufts-NEMC and NEBH can make the decisions about the services the hospital will provide, choices that will likely depend on the town's building regulations. "All towns have an approval process for any type of new development, and we will certainly go through all those requirements when a site is selected," she said.
According to Tyson-Hynes, NEBH specializes in orthopedics, so the new hospital will have an in-patient orthopedic unit, but officials have yet to decide what other services will be available.
Also still undetermined are the hospital's completion date, number of staff and patients, and total cost, Tyson-Hynes said. She added that the hospitals anticipate adding jobs with the growth.
And both partner hospitals have significant resources at their disposal. "Both hospitals have significant capital aspects that can be utilized for the new hospital," she said.
According to an article in the Sept. 8 issue of The Boston Globe, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino abruptly cancelled a meeting on Sept. 7 with Zane and Dionisio regarding the new hospital.
"We are providing information to City Hall and to all involved elected officials and we will continue to communicate with these groups as a strategic plan develops," Tyson-Hynes said.
Mayor Menino was unavailable for comment by press time.
City Council President Michael Flaherty has his concerns, but is nevertheless supportive of the new initiative.
"The main thing that the Council President was worried about was a loss of jobs or services in Boston," said Andrew Kenneally, a spokesperson for the Council President. "Ellen Zane assured him that nothing would be lost, and he understands the need to survive and live in this new healthcare world."
Vice Dean of Tufts University School of Medicine Jeffrey Glassroth said a joint facility in the suburbs of Boston raises many exciting possibilities for the medical school.
"Since both institutions would continue to operate their existing facilities, a new, state-of-the-art hospital would likely draw new patients who are not presently seen at either of the current hospital locations," he said.
Tufts students could learn from more patients, Glassroth said, with the possibility of accelerating some of the clinical research Tufts faculty engages in, which requires patient participants.
Glassroth is also enthusiastic about the opportunity for state-of-the art educational facilities and new clinical research facilities in the new hospital.
"These would complement existing facilities on the Boston campus which will continue to be used in much the same way they currently are," he said.
Glassroth said that Michael Rosenblatt, Dean of Tufts University School of Medicine, shared his views on the new hospital.
Despite the project's nascent stages, optimism is running high. "Although this project is at a very early stage of planning, we at the medical school share the excitement of the hospitals' leaders and are looking forward to working with them as things move forward," Glassroth said.
