Big Plans Announced For Salem Hospital

North Shore Medical Center and Partners HealthCare recently announced a revised restructuring plan that improves care and coordination across a wide spectrum of health services. This plan realigns practices and facilities to make high-quality care more effective and efficient and improves access to the community-based care that North Shore residents use most. It builds on a similar plan announced two years ago that was revised in light of Spaulding Hospital North Shore’s decision to close later this year.

Key elements of the plan include:

• Consolidating NSMC hospital-based medical, surgical and behavioral health services on one campus at Salem Hospital and expanding and improving that facility to serve the needs of the North Shore region. All inpatient services currently based at NSMC’s Union Hospital Campus will be consolidated at Salem Hospital over the course of the next three years.
• Converting the current Spaulding Hospital North Shore, located on the campus of NSMC Salem Hospital, to a 100+-bed Center of Excellence in Behavioral Health that will be directly aligned with Massachusetts General Hospital and add 40-50 new beds to the region for psychiatry and behavioral health services. Spaulding’s decision to close its long-term care facility presents NSMC with new opportunities for configuring its care facilities.
• Expanding community-based outpatient primary, specialty, urgent care and behavioral health services throughout the North Shore at North Shore Physicians Group (NSPG) offices, and in collaboration with the Lynn Community Health Center and North Shore Community Health Center.

The NSPG practice currently on the Union Campus will remain in Lynn and will give residents and Union neighbors access to expanded outpatient primary, specialty and behavioral health services. NSMC remains fully committed to providing emergency care to communities in Lynn, Salem and throughout the region. In addition to the expanded Emergency Department in Salem, NSMC will continue to operate the current Emergency Department on the Union Campus over the transition of the next several years and will work with the city and community to ensure a long-term approach that is inclusive and meets their needs.

According to NSMC President Robert G. Norton, “We are confident that this plan succeeds in delivering the highest quality care to our patients in a comprehensive and thoughtful way. In the new heath care environment, this plan will help us better coordinate care, improve quality and more effectively contribute to the overall health of our communities.”

Improvements on the Salem Campus

To accommodate the consolidation of medical, surgical and behavioral health services, NSMC will build a new Emergency Department and two additional family-centered inpatient units at NSMC Salem Hospital. The former Spaulding Hospital North Shore will be renovated to accommodate expanded behavioral health services for children, adolescents, adults and seniors. Key access areas such as the hospital’s main entrance and green spaces will also be reconfigured and renovated to improve way finding and provide a more welcoming and efficient patient experience.

“Consolidating services is vital to enhancing quality of care and improving the patient experience,” said Mitchell S. Rein, M.D., NSMC Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer in a statement. “With a single hospital, we can provide deeper specialization, better coordination of care and enhanced safety.”

Photo Credit: North Shore Medical Center