LYNN — It was the end of an era in Lynn when the city’s only hospital closed in November.
Plans to close Union Hospital and consolidate services to Salem Hospital were first announced by North Shore Medical Center/Partners HealthCare in 2015, but finally came to fruition when the city’s emergency room shut down this fall.
The decision has been heavily opposed by residents and elected officials throughout the process, who have argued that not having access to a nearby hospital could mean the difference between “life or death” for some people.
The closure, which made Lynn one of the largest cities in the state without an emergency room, was a scenario that emergency medical services (EMS) director and Fire Capt. Joseph Zukas didn’t think the city was fully prepared for.
Zukas and Fire Chief Stephen Archer said in September that the closure was a major concern for emergency responders, noting that it would take ambulances longer to get back into the city for medical calls after transporting patients to Salem Hospital.
“For us, it’s a concern,” Archer told the City Council in September. “The farther away our medic truck is, the longer it takes to get back into service. It’s not a good thing for us. It’s not a good thing for the city. It’s going to have a detrimental effect.”
In addition, Zukas said he didn’t think Salem’s new ER, which was part of a $207 million expansion of NSMC and opened the same day Union closed, could handle the higher capacity of patients from both places.
For instance, Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi, who represents the Union area and opposed the hospital’s closure, said more patients has resulted in residents waiting for hours in Salem for emergency services.
In an effort to alleviate the city’s concerns, NSMC brass worked with elected officials to come up with a plan to build a 42,000 square-foot, $23 million medical village on a portion of the 20-acre Union Hospital site.
The facility, which is expected to open this spring, won’t offer emergency services, but will provide urgent care, basic lab and radiology services, outpatient psychiatry services, and an expanded home for the North Shore Physicians Group Lynn primary and specialty care practice currently located in the West Medical Building on the Union campus.
Union’s emergency department has been functioning as a temporary urgent care center since November, which will remain in place until construction on the new facility is completed.
The remaining 15 acres of the Union site will be developed into age-restricted housing and retail by Procopio Companies. In November, NSMC selected the Lynnfield company for the sale and redevelopment of the hospital property. Procopio is the same developer building a high-rise luxury apartment building in downtown Lynn.
“We are super excited about it,” said Michael Procopio, vice president of development for the company. “We see a ton of potential in Lynn.”
But the closure of a hospital built in 1953 has been anything but exciting for many throughout Lynn.
“I still think it’s a big mistake,” said Lozzi.
