Officials launch ‘Finish Norwood Hospital’ campaign

Officials from the town of Norwood, with the support of state and federal legislators and the backing of dozens of regional municipal and public safety officials, are pleased to launch the “Finish Norwood Hospital” campaign to help bring an acute care hospital back to Norwood.

It has been four-plus years since catastrophic flooding damaged Norwood Hospital on June 28, 2020. The damage was so severe that the hospital needed to be demolished and rebuilt. This construction work has been ongoing for more than a year now, but it faces an uncertain future unless a viable operator can be found and the commonwealth supports the services needed.

In an area where hospital beds seem to always be in short supply, and on the heels of a global pandemic, Massachusetts needs to be better, according to Norwood officials.

At the direction of Governor Maura Healey, Norwood General Manager Tony Mazzucco will lead a new working group to review the healthcare needs of the communities previously served by Norwood Hospital.

As part of the Finish Norwood Hospital campaign, the town of Norwood has also announced the launch of a website dedicated to the campaign: FinishtheJobNorwood.com.

On the website, visitors can access information about the new working group, view the history of Norwood Hospital and review a timeline of the closure, and get involved in advocacy efforts by signing letters to state officials.

Since the closure, the previous owner of Norwood Hospital, Steward Health Care, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced in October 2024 that the company would not renew the hospital’s license.

“Norwood Hospital was always more than a community hospital; it was a regional hospital serving residents in well over a dozen communities,” Mazzucco said. “The hospital closure has had a detrimental effect on the residents and businesses of this region, who now have to travel much further for an acute-care facility, and on the region’s healthcare facilities, which have seen a sharp increase in visitors, leading to prolonged wait times. It is time to finish Norwood Hospital. This has been an emergency since the day the hospital closed, and it is an emergency today.”

“We are long overdue for the reopening of Norwood Hospital,” added Robert G. Donnelly, chair of the Norwood Board of Selectmen. “The hospital was a vital regional healthcare facility. Our residents and the region’s residents deserve better.”

Norwood Hospital previously operated as an acute-care facility with 130-plus beds and an emergency room with a catheterization lab. By census population, the catchment area includes 12 towns and 250,000 residents.

The cascading effect of transports to other hospitals is impacting towns outside of the catchment area, creating devastating regional impacts for emergency medical services.

In 2019, Norwood Hospital served 126,000 patients during its last full year of operation. The hospital turned an $11.2 million profit in 2018 and a $25 million profit in 2019.

In 2019, 42,705 people visited the emergency room, and the average length of stay for admitted patients was 5.3 days.

On August 30, 2021, the state Department of Public Health issued the emergency DoN to rebuild Norwood Hospital. Medical Properties Trust has been rebuilding the hospital, but DPH revoked the DoN for Norwood Hospital in the fall of 2024, citing Steward’s closure.

“We are not asking for money or resources,” Mazzucco said. “We need support from the entire region — residents, businesses, labor, first responders — to ensure potential operators know the opportunities in this region and the state understands the urgent nature of a hospital reopening. It is time to finish the job.”

To follow the Finish Norwood Hospital campaign, visit the campaign website, or the campaign’s socials on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Feb 28 2025. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.