Newbury Campus Should Become an Infirmary

Greater Boston might soon run out of hospital bed capacity, as just one of many consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, and there is an opportunity for a massive and unparalleled relief opportunity in Brookline.

Welltower, the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) who purchased the entire campus of the former Newbury College, now owns a large, unoccupied campus on Fisher Hill.

This campus includes multiple buildings complete with countless rooms and other spaces of all kinds that were fully operational until Newbury recently closed down.

Town leaders should start immediately opening a conversation with Welltower about the possibility of turning some or all of the campus into an emergency infirmary.

Just for example, perhaps the building on the "West Campus" on Fisher Avenue could be cleaned up, fixed up and made into an infirmary within weeks if not days.

Welltower executives and Town leaders must start to think and talk along these lines without delay.

The impact of this pandemic is likely far greater than "only" those who get sick and die from the virus, which alone will be tragic, but only part of the total tragic impact from the cascading impacts on our health care system and economy, locally, nationally, and globally.

Right now, Welltower has an opportunity to generate practically infinite community goodwill and make an immeasurably valuable contribution to managing this tragic pandemic by offering up its unoccupied buildings for health care purposes.