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WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – A Trinity Health home care location closed Monday in West Springfield, resulting in the layoff of dozens of employees.
About 60 workers lost their jobs Monday as a result of the shutdown. One local health care worker says she’s overwhelmed by the need for home health care more than ever.
In July, Trinity Health announced that it would be closing its home health services at a hospice agency in West Springfield, affecting patients in western Massachusetts and 60 employees who are now being laid off.
Western Mass News has reached out to the company for comment. Trinity Health at Home President and CEO Mark McPherson said in part:
“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the healthcare business forever. As we anticipate and plan for the potential changes a global pandemic will bring, the negative impact and lasting effects are beyond anyone’s imagination. Health systems nationwide are facing wide shifts in patient populations, staffing challenges including high-cost agency contracts, and increasing supply and pharmacy costs.
He continued his speech and said:
“Trinity Health is addressing these challenges at home with both long-term and short-term solutions so we can continue our mission to care for the many communities that depend on us. After much thought, we have decided to close our Massachusetts agency, including both home care and hospice, at Trinity Health of New England.”
But Katie Murphy, president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said she was shocked and confused.
“The community needs these services and hospitals are closing,” she told us.
Murphy said the patient volumes in the company’s statement are accurate, but that’s why agencies like Trinity Health at Home need to take some of the pressure off hospitals by providing care at home.
“During the pandemic, people who have delayed care are coming to the hospital more than ever before. Hospitals are bursting at the seams,” Murphy told us. “It doesn’t seem to make any sense at all.”
She also argued that the company was forced to lay off 60 workers due to staffing challenges.
“So many hospitals are saying we have unfilled positions, and Trinity is laying off 60 nurses? 60 health professionals? I’m sure they want some space,” Murphy said.
She told us that hospitals have received funds to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. She believes those funds could have prevented this closure.
“That might be better for the bottom line, but it’s not better for the community,” Murphy said. “The community needs these services.”
Those who have lost their jobs can receive a severance package that includes pay, medical coverage and other benefits, the company said.
Existing patients can complete their 60-day care plan. If their demand goes beyond 60 days, their services will be transferred to a new agency.
Copyright 2022. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). all rights reserved.
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