New England Sinai Hospital was already a ghost town with one car in the parking lot Monday afternoon, one day before its official April 2 closure.
Steward Health Care, which owns nine hospitals in Massachusetts, announced that their plans to close New England Sinai to the state in December. Steward’s ongoing financial distress continue to threaten other Massachusetts hospitals, and with a strong push from the state, the company is looking to sell their remaining facilities in the state.
The closure will remove 39 rehabilitation service beds, 119 chronic care service beds, and all ambulatory care services at the hospital, Steward wrote in a 90-day notice to the Department of Public Health in January.
The notice noted New England Sinai’s financial performance has decreased by more than 1,600% over five years, citing the “chronic under-reimbursement rates through public programs like Medicaid,” increased labor and material costs and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hospital was operating at about 40% capacity in 2024, the notice said, the hospital “does not anticipate a significant impact on patient access following the closure,” listing other rehabilitation and specialty care facilities in Stoughton, New Bedford, Braintree and Boston. All the patients were discharged ahead of the closure on Tuesday, Steward said previously.
Stoughton residents noted the impact of the closure Monday, noting family members, friends and neighbors treated.
“This is definitely a loss for the community,” said Leslie Baker, a long-term resident of the Stoughton area. “I haven’t been myself, but I know people who’ve been treated. And I knew a nurse who worked there. It was definitely an important place for many people.”
The Stoughton-based hospital traces its roots to 1927, when it opened as the nonprofit hospital Jewish Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Rutland, Massachusetts, according to the hospital site.
“Good Samaritan (Hospital in Brockton) is pretty close,” said Josh Miller. “But you can tell we can use more health care around here. For sure.”
The future of the facility is not yet certain, town officials said.
“Sinai Hospital has been a long term Corporate partner and a valuable contributor to our tax base,” Stoughton Town Manager Thomas Calter said Monday. “While they have kept us informed of their plan to close, they have provided no additional insight into their plans for the building. It is our hope that the real estate will remain a facility where Stoughton residents can benefit from their services and whereby it will continue to be a valuable asset benefiting the town of Stoughton.”
