Carney Hospital was a small for-profit community teaching hospital located in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.[1] It was owned and operated by Dallas-based Steward Health Care.[1]
| Carney Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Steward Health Care System | |
 | |
.jpg) | |
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Organization | |
| Care system | Private |
| Funding | For-profit hospital |
| Type | Teaching |
| Affiliated university | Tufts University School of Medicine |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes |
| Beds | 159 (2022) |
| Helipad | Formerly |
| Public transit access | MBTA
 12 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1863 |
| Closed | August 31, 2024 |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Lists | Hospitals in Massachusetts |
The hospital had its beginnings in 1863 in South Boston. It was the first Catholic hospital in New England.[2] Among its first patients were American Civil War soldiers.[citation needed] In 1892 a Carney Hospital team performed the first abdominal surgery in Boston.[3]
In 2022, Carney Hospital was licensed for 159 beds, 91 of which were staffed, and discharged 3,119 inpatients. It operated with total revenues of $98 million, and with a deficit of $22.6 million.[1]
History
edit
Carney Hospital was established in 1863 in South Boston by Andrew Carney with a $75,000 donation and with Sister Ann Alexis Shorb, Carney's choice for its first administrator and a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. It was located on the former Hall Jackson Howe estate on Old Harbor Street on Telegraph Hill. The hospital's main building was designed by architect Charles J. Bateman and completed in 1891.[3]
The 40-bed hospital was the first Catholic hospital in New England.[2] In 1877, the first outpatient department in Boston was established by the hospital in two adjacent houses, followed by the first skin clinic in Boston in 1891.[2] The first abdominal surgery in USA was carried out in the hospital by John Homans in 1882.[5] The same year, the first ovariectomy in Boston was carried out in Carney by Henry I. Bowditch.[5] The first Catholic nursing school in New England was opened in 1892.[2]
In 1920 the hospital introduced its Residency training programs. In 1950 the first plastic hip operation in the United States was performed by Dr. W.R. MacAusland at Carney Hospital.[2][5] In 1953, the hospital moved from South Boston to its present location in Dorchester. The hospital became one of the first in USA to establish community health centers in 1973. Next year, Carney Hospital provided the first medical emergency rooftop helistop in Massachusetts.[2] The hospital celebrated 125 years of service in 1988.[6] After several months of deliberations,[7] In 1997 the hospital became a member of the non-profit Caritas Christi Health Care group, the second largest health care system in New England, and was christened "Caritas Carney Hospital."[2] Caritas Christi was purchased in 2010 by Cerberus Capital Management to create Steward Health Care System, marking the system's transition from non-profit to for-profit.[8]
On May 6, 2024, Steward Health Care filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, raising uncertainty for Carney Hospital's future.[9][10][11] Over the next several months, Steward began searching for potential buyers for all of its hospitals across the country through court-guided auctions. Despite reports from state government that Steward had received bids for all of its hospitals in Massachusetts,[12] the system reported in late July that Carney Hospital, along with Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, would close on or around August 31 having received no "qualified bids."[13] This was met with resistance by the public and government officials who planned to fight the hospital's closure, with emphasis specifically on the planned closure date being at odds with state requirements of 120 days' notice of any cessation of essential health services.[14] However, on August 1, a Texas bankruptcy judge approved for the closure of Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center.[15]
Ultimately, Carney Hospital closed its doors on the morning of August 31, 2024.[16][17][18][19]
In popular culture
editCarney Hospital is mentioned in Philip Roth's alternative history novel The Plot Against America. While speaking to a crowd "at South Boston's busy Perkins Square," journalist Walter Winchell narrowly survives an assassination attempt and is "driven to Carney Hospital on Telegraph Hill," where he is treated "for facial wounds and minor burns."
References
edit- ^ a b c "Steward Carney Hospital 2022 Hospital Profile" (PDF). Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis. 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Yesterday and Today". History. Caritas Christi Health Care. Archived from the original on 2014-09-19. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ^ a b Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell, South Boston, Volume 2, Arcadia Publishing, 2000. Cf. p.83-90, chapter on Carney Hospital
- ^ Forest Hills Cemetery. Arcadia Publishing, 2009
- ^ a b c Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell (February 21, 2000). "Six". Dorchester Volume 2 (MA). Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 109–110. ISBN 0-7385-0336-3. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
- ^ Negri, Gloria (May 30, 1988). "Carney Hospital Turns 125". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
- ^ Pham, Alex (November 5, 1996). "Carney Hospital Will Be Sold To Catholic Health Care Network". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
- ^ McGrory, Brian (February 2, 2024). "As Steward hospitals teeter, CEO's $40 million yacht is docked in the Galapagos Islands". Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ Weisman, Robert; Bartlett, Jessica (May 6, 2024). "Steward files for bankruptcy, leaving its eight Massachusetts hospitals in limbo". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Schooly, Matt; Kaplan, Michael (May 6, 2024). "Steward Health Care files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy". CBS News. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ "Steward Carney Hospital, Inc. Files For Bankruptcy". BKData. May 6, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ Weisman, Robert (July 24, 2024). "Healey presses Steward to move forward quickly in selling Massachusetts hospitals". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on July 25, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ Pressman, Aaron; Laughlin, Jason (July 26, 2024). "Steward closing hospitals in Boston, Central Mass". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ Antelman, Dakota; Kruczynski, Eliza (July 29, 2024). "'We want a better result': Local leaders promise to hold Steward accountable amid plans to close hospitals". WHDH (TV). Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ Micek, John (August 1, 2024). "Steward can shutter Carney, Nashoba Valley hospitals, bankruptcy judge rules". Mass Live. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ Ganley, Shaun. "Carney Hospital, Nashoba Valley Medical Center close Saturday morning". wcvb.com. Hearst Television Inc. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ Daniel, Seth (August 30, 2024). "At Carney Hospital, final hours saw tears and visits from officials". Dorchester Reporter. Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ Prichard, Matt; Klein, Asher. "Steward hospitals in Dorchester, Ayer close amid bankruptcy saga". nbcboston.com. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ Weisman, Robert; Kohli, Diti (August 30, 2024). "'We thought somebody would do something.' Carney and Nashoba hospitals close their doors, in a piercing loss for their communities". The Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
Further reading
edit- Gillespie, C. Bancroft, Illustrated History of South Boston: Issued in Conjunction with and Under Auspices of the South Boston Citizens' Association : Comprising an Historic Record and Pictorial Description of the District, Past and Present, Inquirer Publishing Company, 1900 - South Boston (Boston, Mass.). Cf. p.251