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Más de seis años después de que Providence pusiera la primera piedra en una nueva Adición de Rehabilitación para Pacientes Hospitalizados Agudos de 12,000 pies cuadrados en el Hospital Redwood Memorial en Fortuna, la construcción se ha detenido y los planes para completar la instalación han sido cancelados.

La unidad de rehabilitación para pacientes hospitalizados es uno de los varios servicios para pacientes que aún se ofrecen en el campus del Hospital General.

Mientras tanto, los empleados de Providence en el Hospital St. Joseph en Eureka dicen que la unidad de rehabilitación para pacientes hospitalizados existente, que se encuentra dentro del antiguo campus del Hospital General, justo al norte de las principales instalaciones del Hospital St. Joseph en Harrison Avenue en Eureka, también podría ser eliminada pronto, aunque no han podido obtener confirmación de la gerencia. 

Rumores sobre estos desarrollos comenzaron a circular en las redes sociales hace aproximadamente dos semanas, cuando enfermeras registradas y otros empleados de Providence informaron que pronto podrían eliminarse empleos y servicios. 

“El Director Ejecutivo [Michael Kelemen] nos dijo que han dejado de construir en Redwood Memorial y no prevén reiniciar la construcción”, dijo una empleada del hospital que habló con el Outpost bajo condición de anonimato por temor a perder su empleo. (La llamaremos Jennifer.)

La unidad de rehabilitación para pacientes hospitalizados, donde terapeutas ocupacionales, fisioterapeutas y otros proveedores de atención ayudan a los pacientes a recuperarse de accidentes cerebrovasculares, cirugías, accidentes físicamente debilitantes y más, es uno de los varios servicios que aún se ofrecen en el antiguo campus del Hospital General. Jennifer dijo que la unidad emplea aproximadamente a 40 personas, incluidos gerentes de caso, trabajadores sociales, terapeutas del habla, fisioterapeutas, terapeutas ocupacionales, enfermeras registradas, dietistas y más.

Pero el edificio del Hospital General no cumple con las normas sísmicas actuales del Estado de California. Providence, el sistema de atención médica católica sin fines de lucro que asumió el control de St. Joseph Health en 2016, anteriormente estimó que el costo de las reformas sísmicas solo en sus instalaciones en el condado de Humboldt era de más de $180 millones.

La construcción de la nueva instalación en Fortuna avanzó a trompicones durante los últimos ocho años, pero Jennifer y otros empleados contactados por el Outpost dijeron que los costos aumentaron durante la pandemia y se han disparado aún más en los últimos años.

“So we don’t know much — just that admin went around to a couple huddles and told them they’re abandoning the construction project at Redwood,” said Julia Minton, an organizer and membership representative with the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW).

“From there, people kind of run with that information,” Minton said. “We also heard that Providence is on an extension, [that] they got a variance to continue operating [from inside General Hospital] past the state deadline because it had that plan in place.”

This variance for compliance with state seismic regulations was contingent on active construction of the new facility, so when word came that the project is being abandoned, “that’s where people jumped to the assumption that General Hospital is getting closed now or by end of year,” Minton said.

We sent Providence a list of questions via email, asking specifically whether the local inpatient rehab unit will be closed and, if so, where patients who need those services might be sent, how many employee positions will be eliminated, and when these changes might happen.

In response, an L.A.-area Providence spokesperson named Patricia Aidem sent a statement that didn’t really answer those questions, though she did confirm that the construction at Redwood Memorial will not be completed: 

Providence St. Joseph Hospital, Eureka, like all other hospitals in California, is subject to meeting structural seismic compliance standards by 2025.  We have communicated with caregivers and the community that the General Hospital campus is not seismically compliant, requiring services to be discontinued in those buildings by the end of 2024.  

We are proactively collaborating with the State to keep them informed of progress toward compliance, which included the relocation of the Acute Rehabilitation Unit to Providence Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna.

Due to several external factors, we are unable to move forward with the project at Providence Redwood Memorial Hospital.

We’ve engaged internal stakeholders and community members to identify potential solutions to maintain this critical service in Humboldt County and are currently exploring the options.

We are committed to keeping our caregivers and the community informed as we navigate this process…

“Every physical therapist and occupational therapist I’ve spoken to does not want to see us partnered with a SNF,” Minton said, “mostly because they’re terrible operators. They’re not good institutions, especially the ones we have locally. They’re unabashedly greedy.” (See news reports here, here and here for more info on that.)

A sign directs patients to the inpatient rehab unit inside the old General Hospital building.

We shared a copy of Providence’s PR statement with Jennifer, who took particular notice of the part claiming that administrators have “engaged internal stakeholders and community members.”

“I don’t know who’s a bigger stakeholder than the staff who’ve been on that award-winning unit and the patients we serve,” she said.

Established in 1987, the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Program has cared for almost 10,000 patients from across Humboldt County and beyond, according to Providence. The program treats conditions such as major trauma injuries, brain injuries, amputations, neurological disorders, burns, spinal cord injuries and more. In 2020, the program ranked in the top tier nationwide for overall patient satisfaction.

“Its value is priceless for the community,” said Bonnie Hamant, a registered nurse who works at the facility. “By community I mean from Fort Bragg to Hoopa and all areas in between. What we have been able to give to patients is their independence and life back. Nothing is more precious for a patient recovering than to see a positive future, not a nursing home wall.”

Jennifer said she’s heard that Providence may either collaborate with a local skilled nursing facility or rely on regional support by sending patients (and maybe some of their family members) down to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa or the Providence-run hospital in Santa Rosa.

Neither would be an adequate substitute for the services offered locally for the past 37 years, she said.

“I personally am afraid that this is just another notch of what they’ll do,” Jennifer said.

“Providence does this every time,” Minton agreed. She referred specifically to the closure of Providence’s outpatient labs earlier this year and the 2021 closure of the birthing center at Redwood Memorial. In each case, Providence promised that no jobs would be lost. Minton said that while that may technically be true, employees were typically offered lower wages for new positions that required entirely different skillsets. 

“One LDN [labor and delivery nurse] affected by the Redwood closure, they turned around and offered her a nursing assistant position, which was a third of her salary pay cut and a huge demotion,” Minton said.

Minton estaba esperanzada de obtener más información hoy. Envío un mensaje de texto al Outpost esta tarde con esta actualización: “Todo lo que recibimos del hospital hoy es que la continuación de la construcción en redwood no es viable. Y que están comprometidos a mantener los servicios en la zona ya sea operados por St Joes/Redwood o en asociación con otra entidad. 🤷”

Le envié un mensaje de vuelta: “Me pregunto qué consideran ‘la zona’.”

“Nosotros también nos lo preguntamos,” respondió Minton.