NORWOOD, Mass. — Six years after historic flooding forced Norwood Hospital to close its doors, town leaders are intensifying efforts to bring the facility back into operation, arguing the closure continues to jeopardize emergency medical care for hundreds of thousands of residents.
“Every single day ambulances drive by this hospital with sick patients, and in some cases they’re driving by with dying patients,” said Norwood Town Manager Tony Mazzucco.
Sunday marks six years since flood damage shut down the hospital, which has remained closed ever since. Local officials say the loss of the facility has created significant challenges for emergency medical services across the region.
“This is our number one priority for our community and every community around us — Sharon, Walpole, Foxborough, Medfield, Dedham, Westwood. This is big,” said Michael Saad, chair of the Norwood Select Board.
According to town leaders, the hospital’s closure affects healthcare access for roughly 250,000 people living in Norwood and surrounding communities.
The renewed push comes as the town released a new report showing ambulance response times for local residents have nearly doubled over the past six years. Officials also say emergency departments in Boston are operating at or near capacity, increasing concerns about delayed care.
“We hope lawmakers will be the heroes to get somebody in this hospital, get this thing open and operating in the next year,” Saad said. “They can do it. This is the time to shine.”
The Norwood Hospital Task Force is urging residents to sign a petition demonstrating public support for reopening the hospital.
At the same time, supporters are backing legislation currently pending in the Massachusetts House that would allow the state to use eminent domain to take control of the hospital property. Advocates believe the measure could accelerate reopening the facility under a new operator.
“We’re not asking the state for money,” Mazzucco said. “We’re asking the state to use their authority with eminent domain, as they should as a state, to save this region and to save healthcare in this entire region.”
For some residents, the issue is deeply personal.
Stephen Costello, a member of the Norwood Hospital Task Force, recalled bringing his daughter to the hospital’s emergency room after she was struck by a softball while in high school.
“We came here to the emergency room, thought it was no big deal. They properly diagnosed it as a brain bleed,” Costello said. “If we had waited in an emergency room for 12 hours, it might have been too late.”
Costello said his daughter underwent brain surgery and has since recovered. He worries other families may not have the same outcome without a nearby emergency department.
“I don’t want stories like that repeated in this community, in this state, where because a hospital closes you’re going to have catastrophic results for people,” he said.
Norwood town leaders hope to collect at least 12,000 signatures on the petition supporting the hospital’s reopening. They are also urging lawmakers to pass the eminent domain bill in both the House and Senate before the legislative session concludes at the end of July.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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