State To Hold Hearing On MetroWest Medical's Oncology Closures

FRAMINGHAM, MA - The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is holding a public hearing Wednesday night regarding the Metrowest Medical Center’s announcement of plans to close the medical oncology and radiation oncology departments, which the head of the state's largest nurses union called "shameful."

The hearing on the controversial move will be held at 6 p.m. in Nevins Hall in the Memorial Building and will last approximately three hours. This is the first in-person meeting held by DPH since the onset of the pandemic more than two years ago, according to a statement by the Massachusetts Nurses Association released Tuesday.

"It is important to note that the City of Framingham is not holding this hearing," according to a statement released on the city's website Tuesday night. "We are only providing the space and furniture as requested by the hospital. All other arrangements are being made by the DPH and the MWMC."

DPH, which is hosting the meeting, provided a call-in telephone number for those who cannot attend in person. The call-in telephone number is 888-390-5007, and the participant passcode is 7543309.

Tenet Healthcare, a multinational healthcare company based in Dallas, Texas that owns the facility, is proposing to close its outpatient oncology services at MetroWest Medical Center’s Framingham Union campus located at 115 Lincoln St. This would halt oncology infusion and radiation oncology services.

“As a practicing nurse, and on behalf nurses who provide oncology care in the Commonwealth, I can tell you there is no medical, no moral and no financial justification for Tenet’s decision to abandon this vital service to this community,” Katie Murphy, president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said in a statement which previews some of her testimony.

“For patients coping with a cancer diagnosis, the stress, anxiety and physical strain can be an enormous burden, which makes local access to treatment vital for positive outcomes," she added. "It is even more important for a community like Framingham, which has a significant and growing population of residents who lack the means to easily travel the long distances Tenet callously will force them to travel for the care they should be getting close to home.”

"We are a community built on care," according to the slogan on Tenet's website. Patch reached out to Tenet Wednesday morning and has not received a statement at this time.

If the decision is finalized, cancer patients will be directed to St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, a sister facility, or seek care elsewhere.

In its 90-day notice filed with DPH on May 12, Ava Collins, the chief executive officer of MetroWest Medical Center, said there was a "declining demand" in the treatments.

"Due to declining demand, the Medical Center does not anticipate a significant impact from the discontinuation of oncology infusion and radiation oncology services in Framingham," she wrote. "The Medical Center will continue to offer medical oncology, cancer screening, imaging
and cancer-related surgical procedures."

The number of radiation oncology visits decreased from 5,294 in 2019 to 4,312 in 2020, according to the letter. The number rose modestly in 2021 to 4,512 treatments.

For infusion oncology treatments, the number dropped from 3,963 in 2019 to 3,039 in 2020. The number rebounded to 3,583 in 2021.

Murphy and the MNA will testify that that Tenet can easily afford to maintain the service after the for-profit corporation received more than $2.6 billion in federal and state COVID relief funding.

This is not the first time Tenet has closed departments locally. On September 8, 2020, Andrew Harding, the chief executive officer of MetroWest Medical Center, announced the closure of the emergency room at Leonard Morse Hospital as of Sunday, October 25, 2020. This closure included the psychiatric unit inside the ER, as well as inpatient medical and surgical services.

“We envision the Leonard Morse Hospital campus becoming a unique behavioral health specialty center dedicated to the mental health of our community for child, adolescent, adult and geriatric psychiatric care," Harding said at that time. "Behavioral health is a challenge in our community, and it is critical we optimize our services to help address the issue.”

Rep. Jack Lewis said Wednesday afternoon that he was "grateful" for the DPH for hosting the meeting on the potential closure of the oncology programs.

"I am grateful to the department for hearing our community’s concerns, reading the many emails written by local constituents, and joining us this evening to hear from folks directly," he said. "Those of us who are interested in pragmatic solutions continue to work towards possible outcomes and are grateful for the opportunity tonight to further explore concrete mitigation strategies.”