State: Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford violating the law

Trinity Health of New England, which operates Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, is in violation of state law after closing its birthing unit without proper state approval.

Hospital officials say the shutdown is only temporary, but have not given a date for when it might reopen.

Johnson Memorial “implemented a temporary pause” of its labor and delivery services about a year ago, due largely in response to “the steadily declining demand for those services in the area and the pandemic-related staffing challenges, which resulted in staff turnover and difficulty in recruitment of new, qualified staff,” Trinity spokeswoman Kaitlin Rocheleau said.

Under normal circumstances, a certificate of need through the state’s Office of Health Strategy must be applied for and approved in order for health care providers to make major changes, including access to or discontinuing medical services. Public hearings are typically held to ensure residents have an opportunity to weigh in.

Read more: https://www.journalinquirer.com/towns/stafford/state-johnson-memorial-hospital-in-stafford-violating-the-law/article_bc7add6c-5383-11ec-9f43-1396a7d54c5a.html
(Manchester Journal Inquirer)