DAILY NEWS CLIP: January 13, 2025

Officials: Waterbury Hospital could close if Prospect-Yale standoff lasts too long


Republican-American – Saturday, January 11, 2025
By Livi Stanford

WATERBURY – City and state officials warn the longer lawsuits and negotiations stall a proposed deal between Prospect Medical Holdings and Yale New Haven Health for the sale of Waterbury Hospital, a disturbing fear looms: the hospital could close in the meantime.

That would spark a health crisis in the city, they said.

“If we don’t have two hospitals, we are going to be in serious trouble,” said Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr.

Waterbury’s other hospital is Saint Mary’s Hospital, which would be unlikely to handle all health care needs alone.

State Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, the state Senate co-chairman of the Public Health Committee, said he is concerned that the governor’s office must get involved to initiate a discussion between Prospect and Yale.

“If they do not start to have meaningful conversation, things will not move in the right direction,” he said.

Two unions at Waterbury Hospital continue to express concerns that patient care is at risk, alleging inadequate staffing and equipment, and a failure to follow requirements of a new staffing law.

Julia Bergman, Gov. Ned Lamont’s chief spokeswoman, said in an email the state has “and will continue to hold them accountable to their obligations to provide quality care and to the community,” she said.

Last month, Waterbury Hospital officials said they filled a state-mandated independent monitor to oversee patient care. This action came after the Department of Public Health fined the hospital $60,000 this past November and ordered officials to execute a contract for the extra layer of surveillance after five unannounced inspections found violations of state law.

A DPH plan of correction report on July 25 states that based on “clinical records, hospital documentation, policies, and staff interview for 1 of 4 patients, the hospital failed to ensure that a patient with a critical lab value was transferred to a higher level of care, ICU.” (It states further that) “nursing staff failed to implement cardiac monitoring and arrange for transfer to the ICU and failed to implement physician orders, including administration of medications and obtaining a blood specimen.” The report states further that the patient then suffered a cardiac arrest on Feb. 10 of last year.

This is the second patient to die at Waterbury Hospital, according to inspection reports from DPH. On Dec. 16, 2022, a patient died due to delays in “blood testing.” In another incident, the report states that the hospital “failed to investigate an injury (rib fractures) of unknown origin” concerning a patient at the beginning of 2024.

The order stated that within 14 days, the hospital should develop or revise policies and procedures related to staffing levels and abuse prevention, including screening, abuse reporting, investigation, and staff education; patient restraints; management of patients on continuous cardiac monitoring; anesthesia services and internal reporting of serious events.

Lauresha Xhihani, director of communications and marketing for Waterbury Health, has said the hospital has policies that fulfill the consent order’s requirements.

Christopher Boyle, director of communications for DPH, said Friday that Waterbury Hospital has paid the $60,000 in accordance with the consent order. He confirmed the independent monitor is in place at the hospital.

The state approved the sale of Waterbury Hospital March 27, two years after Yale and Prospect announced a $435 million package deal for Yale to acquire Waterbury, Manchester Memorial, and Rockville General hospitals from California-based Prospect.

Legal battles started in May 2024, when Yale filed for a declaratory judgment that it is not obligated to complete the sale because Prospect violated the agreement due to irresponsible financial practices, severe neglect, and general mismanagement that has left the three hospitals a shell of what they were when Yale agreed to acquire them. Prospect countersued.

Anwar said that half of a million patients depend on their health care from Prospect’s three Connecticut hospitals and that there are thousands of health care workers who “give their heart and soul to take care of the patients.

“We have to protect them,” he said.

Prospect Medical and Yale New Haven Health did not respond to requests for comment.

House Bond Chairman Ron Napoli Jr, D-73rd District, said this is a critical moment in terms of the finances involved in the sale.

“I am deeply concerned that the longer this matter is litigated the more difficult it will become for both entities to reach a final purchase agreement,” he said.

State Sen. Joan V. Hartley said the hospital sale is at a critical juncture.

“We are at a make-or-break point,” she said.

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