SALEM — The state's public health Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a major expansion of Salem Hospital and the closing of Union Hospital in Lynn.
The 8-0 vote clears the way for a $230 million project on the Salem Hospital campus that will include construction of a three-story building with a new emergency department, the renovation of the former Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital into a 120-bed mental health center, and a new main entrance and lobby.
North Shore Medical Center CEO Robert Norton said officials hope to start construction on the project this fall.
"Needless to say we're pleased with the vote today," Norton said. "It was a long road getting here and it's good to put this chapter behind us."
North Shore Medical Center, which includes Salem and Union hospitals, announced the plans in 2013, but the moving of services from Union Hospital to Salem drew strong opposition in Lynn.
The public Health Council, in a staff summary released Wednesday on the hospital's determination of need application, said North Shore Medical Center "chose not to take into account the substantial impact of the proposed consolidation on access to services by Lynn residents."
As a result, the council said NSMC must evaluate the impact on Lynn residents and come up with a plan for meeting the needs of under-served populations in its service area, including Lynn.
The council also instructed North Shore Medical Center to improve the "cultural, ethnic and gender diversity" of its board of trustees. The council said the 24-member board includes just one Lynn resident, despite the fact that Lynn is the largest community in its service area and has the greatest unmet medical need.
Norton said the hospital has begun interviewing candidates to improve the board's diversity.
Read the entire Salem News Article here
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