BOSTON — Hospitals around the Commonwealth are now expanding the type of care they can provide under Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan. But the pandemic has taken a heavy financial toll on many healthcare systems.
25 Investigates spoke with nurses that have been furloughed during the pandemic. They say they’re worried the financial pressure on hospitals could have a lasting impact on patient care.
“The governor saying, ‘Call your doctor, call your doctor,’ and I’m sitting here going, there’s nobody there. You know, we’re gone,” Atrius ambulatory nurse care manager Michelle Sweeney said. Sweeney says she was furloughed on April 17 and she believes her colleagues are even busier now.
“That work didn't disappear. It's still there. It's just nobody's there doing it now. It's going to result in them coming into that hospital sicker, frailer, and being more prone to get this virus and more prone to a poor health outcome,” Sweeney said.
Atrius Health sent 25 Investigates this statement from president and CEO Steve Strongwater, MD :
Healthcare organizations across the country are in uncharted waters as they care for patients while navigating the financial pressures that come with a drop in routine visits and cancellation of elective surgeries. We are proud of how our organization has pulled together to serve our community during this crisis, including through our COVID emergency call center, drive-through testing, urgent care, and rapidly moving routine care to telehealth video and phone visits. As Massachusetts reopens, we are mindful of the risks posed to patients when they delay essential care such as pediatric vaccinations, screenings for people at risk of hospitalization, and management of chronic illness. We are committed to working with Governor Baker and the Department of Public Health to ensure a safe environment for care, and encourage patients to contact their providers so they can receive appropriate care in person or virtually when needed.”
— -Dr. Steve Strongwater, president and CEO of Atrius Health
The Massachusetts Nurses Association estimates 500 nurses in their 23,000 member union alone have been furloughed. That’s led to nurses filing complaints like these from Facebook:
- “It felt like a war out there today we were all so busy”
- “Witnessed patients going without the proper standard of care due to complete lack of staffing”
- “Everyone needs to be cognizant of their training and not be pushed into taking patients outside their scope of practice”
“We are facing a pandemic like we have never seen in our lifetime and the last thing we should be thinking about is our profit margin right now,” said MNA President Donna Kelly-Williams. “They have received significant resources, both federally and state.”
But Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association says hospitals only received $1 billion in aid, an amount decided before the surge in cases in Massachusetts.
In a letter, the association said this “left too many of our hospitals without needed relief” including “64% of Massachusetts acute hospitals” that “received no funding”.
“They set a threshold of 100 admissions in order to get any funding,” said Holyoke Medical Center CEO Spiros Hatiras. “You take care of these patients, you see death all around you and then your CEO says ‘Guess what, Washington forgot about us and they are not funding us,’ it’s demoralizing.”
Holyoke Medical Center tells 25 Investigates, it kept all nurses directly involved in treating COVID-19 patients working, but if they got sick or needed to quarantine, the furloughed nurses who are not as ‘hands-on’ with that type of care were called to fill in.
Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association tells 25 Investigates, increased equipment costs for COVID treatment, combined with a drop in revenue from outpatient services and elective procedures left state hospitals losing more than $1.4 billion each month.
“Obviously it’s not sustainable for us to lose as much money over a long period of time,” said UMass Memorial Healthcare CFO Sergio Melgar.
UMass Memorial Healthcare tells 25 investigates, their hospital alone will be almost $100 million short after the last three months. Still, the CFO says they have not chosen to furlough employees.
"Our CEO has donated money to the employee assistance fund. I myself have donated money to the employee assistance fund,” said Melgar. “We want to be able to bounce back and have the goodwill of the employees with us.”
But Sweeney maintains, employees working long hours with less help, while people like her remain home could lead to diminished care for patients.
That's the piece that I can't reconcile,” Sweeney said. “And I think that unless or until we look at our healthcare system as a whole, and how it's financed, this is the unfortunate reality of what's happening.”
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