HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1562        FILED ON: 1/15/2025

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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

John H. Rogers

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act Establishing a Norwood Hospital Working group.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1562        FILED ON: 1/15/2025

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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act Establishing a Norwood Hospital Working group.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

(a) The secretary of health and human services shall convene a working group to study and make recommendations to establish and operate an acute care hospital in the town of Norwood. The working group shall: (i) study the scope of care provided by Norwood Hospital as previously operated by Steward Health Care prior to June 28 of 2020; (ii) solicit input from stakeholders as well as experts in construction, hospital operation, and public health; (iii) issue recommendations with the goal of creating an acute care hospital in the town of Norwood which to provide comparable service to that in Norwood prior to June 28 of 2020.

         (b) The secretary shall or their designee shall serve on the working group as its chair and shall appoint the following members to the working group: the commissioner of the Massachusetts department of public health or their designee; the representative of the 12th Norfolk district in the Massachusetts house of representatives or their designee; the senator representing the Norfolk and Suffolk district in the Massachusetts senate or their designee; the representative of Massachusetts’s 8th congressional district in the United States house of representatives or their designee; 1 member who shall represent the Massachusetts Nurses Association; 1 member who shall represent Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts; the chief of the fire department in the Town of Norwood or their designee; the chief of the police department in the town of Norwood or their designee; and the chair of the Norwood select board. 

         (c) The working group shall first convene no later than 30 days after the final passage of this act and shall issue a report of its findings and any recommendation with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the joint committee on public health, and the joint committee on ways and means not later than 120 days after its initial meeting.