Upcoming Community Meetings

• Massachusetts Department of Public Health Public Hearing on the Closure of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Satellite Emergency Facility, January 2, 2019 at 6 p.m. at Lawrence Memorial Hospital/Regis School of Nursing, Classroom A/B

Updates

Third Follow-up to Community-wide Meeting (added 12/18/2018)

The December 12 community meeting about the proposed ambulatory surgery center at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital campus was videotaped for those who were unable to attend.

We are happy to provide the link to the video here.

You may also watch the video at Medford Community Media at https://www.medfordtv.org/.

Second Follow-up to Community-wide Meeting (added 12/14/2018)

Thank you again to everyone who attended our most recent community meeting Wednesday, December 12, 2018, at Medford High School.

As a follow up to last night’s meeting, please see the full slide presentation here.

The full videotaped presentation and subsequent discussion is being finalized by the vendor and will be made available to the community on our website and Medford Community Media early next week. We will let you know once it has been posted to the website.

Additionally, we’ve decided to add another abutter to the Community Advisory Group. Given the selected site location, we feel that this abutter should be someone who lives on Governors Ave. If you live on Governors Ave and are interested in serving on the Community Advisory Group, please let us know by emailing our team at Community@MelroseWakefield.org.

Follow-up to Community-wide Meeting (added 12/13/2018)

Thank you to everyone who attended our most recent community meeting last night at Medford High School. The evening included a panel presentation by representatives from Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Shields Health Care and the parking and traffic engineering firm VHB, who shared the preliminary results of their recent parking and traffic studies.

We appreciate the continued thoughtful questions and discussion by the community, who shared thoughts, comments and insights on the presentation.

The full videotaped presentation and subsequent discussion, including slides, is being finalized by the vendor and will be made available to the community on our website and Medford Community Media early next week.

Please continue sending questions and comments to our team at Community@MelroseWakefield.org.

Notice of Massachusetts Department of Public Health Public Hearing on the Closure of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Satellite Emergency Facility on January 2, 2019 at 6 p.m. (added 12/12/2018)

We have been notified by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that they have scheduled their public hearing on the closing of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital satellite emergency facility for January 2, 2019 at 6 p.m. We have reserved the School of Nursing classrooms again at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. We are proactively communicating this through our communication channels, including email, website and with the City, and are sending the DPH notice to the Medford Transcript.

Please find the official DPH notice below:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING
MelroseWakefield Healthcare, Inc. – Lawrence Memorial Hospital Satellite Emergency Facility
170 Governors Avenue, Medford MA

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has received notification of MelroseWakefield Healthcare, Inc. intent to close the Satellite Emergency Facility at its Lawrence Memorial Hospital Campus.

Pursuant to 105 CMR 130.122(D) the Department will conduct a hearing on the proposed change at 6:00PM on Wednesday, January 2, 2019, at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital/Regis School of Nursing, Classroom A/B, 170 Governors Avenue, Medford, MA. This hearing will not be adjudicatory in nature, but rather a public forum for the presentation of any comments which may be relevant to the Department’s consideration of the proposed change.

Written comments concerning this matter may be submitted to the Department of Public Health, Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification, Attn: Closure Coordinator, 11th Floor, 99 Chauncy Street, Boston MA 02111 through the period of up to and including the date of the hearing. All written and oral comments submitted to the Department may be posted on the Department’s website and released in response to a request for public records.

Reminder: Community Meeting Wednesday, December 12 (added 12/10/2018)

Join us at a community meeting for an update on the Ambulatory Surgery Center and future services at Lawrence Memorial Hospital on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. at Medford High School, Caron Theater, 489 Winthrop St., Medford.

Please feel free to continue emailing any questions or comments to our team at community@melrosewakefield.org.

Clarification of Information about DPH Process (added 12/5/2018)

For anyone who may have attended or watched the Dec. 4, 2018 City Council meeting, we are providing clarification on some information presented.

1. Approval for the Ambulatory Surgery Center is not complete.
2. Information presented last evening is only the Staff Recommendation by DPH for approval (see process below).
3. The application still needs to be reviewed by the Public Health Council, now scheduled for review at their January 9, 2019 meeting.

As required by the Department of Public Health’s Determination of Need (DoN) regulations, DoN staff review all applications. Based upon that review, the DoN staff issues its recommendation to the Public Health Council. The Public Health Council is the decision-making body that has the ultimate authority to approve the DoN application (and separate from the City’s oversight of zoning.)

The recommendation related to the Medford Surgery Center application by the DoN staff is for approval with certain conditions of continued community engagement. However, the DoN application has not yet been voted upon by the Public Health Council. As noted, the Department of Public Health has rescheduled the meeting of the Public Health Council on this matter as the Department of Public Health did not properly notify all of the interested parties of the Public Health Council meeting date and afford them time to respond. The new meeting date is January 9, 2019.

We hope that this provides clarification.

On another matter, there was also a comment made that members of the community advisory group are not permitted to speak negatively or otherwise about the project as a condition of membership. This comment is simply not true. We continue to welcome different opinions and open dialogue.

Further questions, please email community@melrosewakefield.org.

Reminder: Drop-in Meeting  on Thursday, December 6 (added 12/4/2018)

Please note that we have updated the start time to 6:30 p.m.

We are happy to be hosting a second drop-in meeting for abutters and any other interested residents on Thursday, Dec. 6, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in the Johnson Conference Room on the first floor.

This is an open-house style opportunity for abutters and neighbors to stop by should anyone have questions about information that was shared at the recent City Council meeting.

Members of our leadership team will be available to talk with you and answer your questions.

Please feel free to continue emailing any questions or comments to our team at community@melrosewakefield.org.

Follow-up to November 27 City Council Meeting (added 11/28/2018)

On November 27, 2018, Sue Sandberg, MBA, RN, CEO of MelroseWakefield Healthcare, including Lawrence Memorial Hospital and MelroseWakefield Hospital, and executive vice president of Wellforce, made a presentation at the Medford City Council meeting.

As a follow up to last night’s meeting, please see the full slide presentation here.

You’ll see on slide #9 an outline of existing services and the services we would like to bring to the campus. The Community Advisory Group was instrumental in recommending this structure and we hope it helps clarify what services will remain in the existing structure as well as new services that will come with the Ambulatory Surgery Center.

Second Drop-in Meeting, Thursday, December 6, 2018, 6 to 7 p.m. at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in the Johnson Conference Room (1st floor)
Opportunity for abutters and others to come by and ask questions about information shared at the City Council meeting.

Community-Wide Meeting, December 12, 2018, at 6 p.m. at Medford High School, Caron Theater
At this meeting, we will provide:

• Overview of plans for the Lawrence Memorial Hospital campus, including current and planned future services within the hospital building
• Report on the results of the parking and traffic study, and the final proposed location
• Massing plans
• Timeline and next steps in the process

Reminders About Upcoming Community Meetings & Borings Results (added 11/26/2018)

Reminders About Upcoming Community Meetings

Medford City Council, November 27, 2018, at 7 p.m. at Medford City Hall
We have been invited to provide an update to the City Council on our process thus far regarding the proposed ambulatory surgery center. At this time, the results of the traffic and parking study and proposed ambulatory surgery center site location are not yet available, due to the early-on road work delay. These results will be shared at our December 12 meeting.

The information that will be presented at the City Council meeting includes:

• Current and planned future services within the Lawrence Memorial Hospital building
• Changes in emergency department services
• Traffic and parking study process
• Update on December 12, 2018, community-wide meeting

Second Drop-in Meeting, Thursday, December 6, 2018, 6 to 7 p.m. at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in the Johnson Conference Room (1st floor)
Opportunity for abutters and others to come by and ask questions about information shared at the City Council meeting.

Community-Wide Meeting, December 12, 2018, at 6 p.m. at Medford High School, Caron Theater
At this meeting, we will provide:

• Overview of plans for the Lawrence Memorial Hospital campus, including current and planned future services within the hospital building
• Report on the results of the parking and traffic study, and the final proposed location
• Massing plans
• Timeline and next steps in the process

Borings Results

This fall, borings were conducted at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital campus in order to determine if the proposed sites for an ambulatory surgery center had the proper geological underpinning. The borings showed consistent conditions on the campus and confirm that the campus is ok for construction.

Abutters Drop-in Meeting (added 11/9/2018)

We are hosting a drop-in meeting for abutters on Thursday, November 15 from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in the Johnson Conference Room on the first floor.

This is an open-house style opportunity for abutters and neighbors to stop by should anyone have questions about information that has recently been discussed and shared.

Members of our leadership team will be available to talk with you and answer your questions.

If you’re unable to make it, we are looking to schedule another drop-in meeting after the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, please feel free to continue emailing any questions or comments to our team at community@melrosewakefield.org.

Transitioning Emergency Services to Robust Urgent Care (added 11/8/2018)

The future of emergency services at Lawrence Memorial Hospital has been questioned for some time by employees, staff and the community. Based on the decreasing number of cases we see, and the lower-acuity of those patients, we know there is a growing need for more robust, extended urgent care to better address the community’s needs. Below is some helpful information regarding our plans to transition our emergency medicine services to expanded urgent care at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

About the emergency medicine services at Lawrence Memorial Hospital:

• The Lawrence Memorial Hospital satellite emergency facility is one of the least utilized emergency facilities in the state. (In FY18, it was the least used emergency facility.)
• The Lawrence Memorial Hospital satellite emergency facility receives less than one patient an hour on average, and less than one patient total, on average, between midnight and 7 a.m.
• The Lawrence Memorial Hospital satellite emergency facility sees low-acuity patients, most of who can be treated in an urgent care setting with no high-cost emergency room co-pay.

About urgent care at Lawrence Memorial Hospital:

• Lawrence Memorial Hospital urgent care treats pediatrics to adults.
• In early 2019, at the time of transition from emergency services, Lawrence Memorial Hospital urgent care will extend its current hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends to 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, and will be staffed by emergency medicine providers.
• Urgent Care treats children to adults with cuts (stitches), fractures, sports injuries, playground injuries, injuries from falls, back/knee/joint pain/injury, respiratory illness, flu, strep, earache, fever, skin ailments/rashes, suspected concussion, allergies, eye irritations, minor burns, and more; and can perform x-rays (read by hospital radiologists), lab tests, provide prescriptions, and referrals to specialists.

This transition in services is a 120-day process with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. We will continue to communicate updates throughout the process. We have notified the Mayor’s office and City Councilors of this plan and expect there will be a public hearing sometime after our filing in 30 days.

We will be providing more information to the community on the plan at the Medford City Council meeting on Nov. 27, 2018.

Community Advisory Group and ASC Location Updates (added 11/2/2018)

Community Advisory Group

The members of the Community Advisory Group have been named.  The members have diverse experience and interests and will help advise Lawrence Memorial Hospital leadership in ensuring that issues are properly addressed in public forums. This group will provide a seat at the table for community input as the Ambulatory Surgery Center project moves forward.

Members include:

Community

John Curtin, abutter to Lawrence Memorial Hospital and Ten Taxpayer group member
Beverly Bates, abutter to Lawrence Memorial Hospital
Dan Mastrorilli, Medford resident
Rick Orlando, Medford resident
Chris Curtin, Appointed by the Mayor
MaryAnn O’Connor, City of Medford, Director of Public Health

Lawrence Memorial Hospital

Dr. Rob Weinstein, community physician at Lawrence Memorial Hospital
Ryan Fuller, MelroseWakefield Healthcare business planning
Henry St. Hilaire, MelroseWakefield Healthcare facilities manager
Sam Tarabelsi, Tufts Medical Center Community Care physician services
Sarah Modine, Shields Health Care

Please continue submitting questions or comments to community@melrosewakefield.org. We will be sharing community responses with the Community Advisory Group to help inform our outreach and messaging as we continue moving through this process.

Narrowing Down Ambulatory Surgery Center Location Options

The location of the Ambulatory Surgery Center is of great interest to the community, City and the Medford City Council. As we continue to engage with the community and hear feedback, we understand the least desirable option is the one that puts the new center in the middle of the existing parking lot. We have listened to your comments, so this option is no longer under consideration [See image below].

Complete information on final location with images, parking and traffic analysis will be shared with the entire community at the city-wide community meeting.

Click here to enlarge

Drop-in Community/Abutter Meetings

It was suggested by the City Council that MelroseWakefield Healthcare hold regular “drop-in” meetings at Lawrence Memorial Hospital for abutters and the community to have the opportunity to check-in and/or discuss ongoing questions and concerns. We are in the process of identifying times and locations for these meetings and will promote the scheduled hours widely through this email list, the website, the City’s website, and City-wide calls.

Next Community-Wide Meeting December 12, 6 p.m., Medford High School.

We are working on having more detailed information about important elements of the Ambulatory Surgery Center plan at our next community-wide meeting, which we are happy to announce, is scheduled for December 12, at 6 p.m. at Medford High School.  In addition to announcing this meeting to our email subscribers, we will begin promoting the date, time and location widely through this email list, the website, the City’s website and City-wide calls well in advance.

Follow-up from Oct. 23 City Council Meeting (added 10/24/2018)

Last night, Lawrence Memorial Hospital was invited by the Medford City Council to provide an update on its proposed on-campus Ambulatory Surgical Center project. For your convenience, find a copy of that update here (PDF).

We understand that it was not widely known that Lawrence Memorial Hospital would be providing an update at this City Council meeting. As a result, we will be presenting an update again to the City Council this coming week, October 30, 2018, to ensure that all members of the community are aware and have the opportunity to attend. We will post this notice that we are attending the City Council Meeting on this project website. Additionally, the City of Medford is planning its own announcement via its automated robo-call to residents.

We would also like to recognize the members of the community that participated in last night’s City Council meeting. The comments that were offered were incredibly thoughtful and will be taken under advisement.

Information on Community Advisory Group (added 10/18/2018)

It has come to our attention that there are concerns that the newly created community advisory group will be used to limit or circumvent any public discussion of the proposed Ambulatory Surgical Center project. We wanted to take this opportunity to clear up any misconceptions of the goals of the community advisory group.

• The community advisory group will NOT be a substitute for the large, comprehensive city-wide community meetings that will be well advertised. Every voice counts in this process and will be heard. Please stay tuned for a schedule of these larger public meetings.
• The community advisory group is a smaller, but representative group, of abutters and city residents that was designed to better inform Lawrence Memorial Hospital leadership about the concerns of the community and to ensure that those issues are properly addressed in our public forums. This group will provide a seat at the table for community input as the Ambulatory Surgery Center project takes shape.
• The community advisory group will provide the platform for two-way information flow. We expect community members to elevate community concerns, and in return, they can expect our senior staff to be explicit in responding to those concerns.
• The community advisory group will include two abutters, two Medford residents that are not direct abutters, an appointee from the Mayor’s Office, and the Director of Public Health to create a team, that when combined with our Lawrence Memorial Hospital senior leadership, will give us the ability to work more effectively with the community.

More information will continue to be shared about this group and any other developments as it becomes available.

Traffic Study Planned (added 10/15/2018)

Oct. 15 Update: The traffic study will be delayed one week due to a repaving project by the city.

We’re pleased to announce that after consultation with the City of Medford, Lawrence Memorial Hospital has retained a third-party traffic engineer, VHB, to conduct a Transportation Access and Impact Study. This study will evaluate the surrounding transportation infrastructure in connection with the proposed Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) and other future hospital programming. The study will also assess existing pedestrian conditions, vehicular speeds, and sight distance conditions at hospital driveways.

As part of the study, traffic monitoring equipment will be installed throughout the neighborhoods surrounding Lawrence Memorial Hospital in the coming week. We will cause as little disruption as possible and appreciate your understanding as we assess traffic patterns and volume.

Traffic Count Locations (PDF)

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. More information will be provided as efforts progress.

Update on Activity (added 10/10/2018)

Since our public meeting in August, we have been working closely with the City of Medford and local residents in an effort to address questions raised by the community and abutters at the public hearing. Specifically, we would like to update you on the following activity:

• We are forming a 10-12 member Community Advisory Group that will include Medford residents and abutters to review and recommend appropriate strategies to mitigate the impacts of any proposed development of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Campus, including but not limited to the Ambulatory Surgical Center.
• We are working with the City of Medford and a third party traffic engineering firm on a Transportation Access and Impact Study. The study will evaluate impacts to the surrounding transportation infrastructure in connection with the Proposed Ambulatory Surgical Center and other future Lawrence Memorial Hospital services. The study will take place over the coming weeks. We will provide the results of the study as soon as they are finalized.
• We have created a project website to share relevant announcements with the community at large. This website has helped make community members aware of on campus project related activity such as boring drillings. The website is located at www.MelroseWakefield.org/VisionLMH
• Community members and abutters have provided Lawrence Memorial Hospital with email addresses indicating an interest to learn about project activity. We have created an email list of nearly 200 local residents to keep members informed about the project. To join this list, please visit our website at www.MelroseWakefield.org/VisionLMH
• Following the results of the above-referenced traffic study; we will announce the date of a public meeting to share those results and other project updates. The date of this meeting will be shared in many ways, including notification to the Mayor and City Council, a communication to our email list and a posting on our website.

We welcome all residents to subscribe to this list to stay informed. Additionally, questions or comments can be emailed to our team at the following email address: Community@MelroseWakefield.org.

Update on Borings (added 10/10/2018)

The boring work has been completed and the results will be compiled, summarized and then shared as soon as we have the information available.

Follow-up on the September City Council Meeting (added 9/24/2018)

Following the September City Council meeting, neighbors of Lawrence Memorial Hospital met with senior leadership from MelroseWakefield Healthcare, including Susan Sandberg, MBA, RN, chief executive officer of MelroseWakefield Healthcare and executive vice president at Wellforce. Several City Councilors and the Mayor were present. In a continuing effort to keep the larger Medford community informed we are posting the summary of that meeting here: Click here to read a summary of the meeting.

Larger, city-wide community meetings will be scheduled this fall as new information becomes available. If any resident or group would like to schedule a time to meet, please contact us at: community@melrosewakefield.org

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