UNAP Members to Protest Outside of Memorial Hospital on Monday

GoLocalProv News Team

UNAP Members to Protest Outside of Memorial Hospital on Monday

Memorial Hospital
Members of the United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP), Local 5082, will picket outside of Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket to protest the lack of a plan to preserve health services.

The picket will take place on Monday, November 27 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. outside the campus of Memorial Hospital.

"The people of this community and the health professionals who serve them deserve to know what -- if any -- health services and jobs are going to be maintained by Care New England at the Memorial campus. Our request for detailed information has been met with little more than empty rhetoric and it's time Care New England executives came clean about their plans for Memorial,” said Rita Brennan, RN, president of UNAP Local 5082.

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The union hopes to call the public's attention to Care New England's (CNE) negligence in offering a detailed plan for the health services and jobs it says it wants to maintain at Memorial. 

Care New England Talks Plan

The picket comes a little less than a week after Care New New England claimed they had developed plans for the continuation of "community-based care in the Pawtucket region." 

As GoLocalProv reported, when pressed for specifics CNE refused to respond to answer any questions. 

When asked how many jobs would be retained, what would happen to those employees not retained, where the new facility would be located

"We will continue to provide more details as we work to solidify these plans," said Jim Beardsworth, spokesperson for CNE.

Closure of Memorial Hospital

CNE submitted the Memorial Hospital application for closure earlier this month.

According to the application, “At 9.3 percent occupancy, Memorial’s daily census has been significantly below capacity and below what is required to be financially viable. Due to service readiness, staffing, and operational requirements to meet licensure conditions, Memorial loses approximately $2 million per month. Given such under-utilization and unsustainable chronic financial losses, Memorial cannot continue to adequately staff and deliver patient care services in a clinically safe and financially viable manner and intends to cease all operations as soon as possible.”

United Nurses and Allied Health Professionals (UNAP) General Counsel Chris Callaci joined GoLocal LIVE and talked about Care New England's (CNE) effort to close Memorial Hospital without state approval on GoLocal LIVE's Business Monday.

He blasted CNE for their failure to meet the minimum standards of the closure process. 


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