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On Tuesday, Jan. 26, in a letter to the community, Baystate President Mark A. Keroack outlined the state and financial health of one of its satellite facilities in Western Massachusetts.
The facility slated to be closed is the more than 100-year-old Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center in Ware, which provides emergency as well as cancer care and other services. Over the next two years, services will be transferred mostly to Baystate Wing Hospital, which is about 9 miles away in Palmer.
“We know this is difficult news for the community,” Keroack said. “The fact is, despite our significant investment in this location during the past several years, patients are choosing to receive care in other locations.”
Contributing to this decision were Mary Lane's capacity rates and services used. Almost half of Mary Lane’s capacity goes unused during the daytime and that free-space grows to about 90 percent at night, Keroack said. There are also too few emergency visits to the facility. Out of the average 28 people treated at the facility per day, about 24 of those people are seeking help with minor or non-urgent conditions like cold, flu, and sprains.
In June, Mary Lane will close the satellite emergency facility and cancer care services will be transitioned to the D’Amour Center for Cancer Care in Springfield. (Patients already receiving cancer care at Mary Lane will be offered free transportation to the Springfield facility.)
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