To the Editor:

I am writing regarding the Aug. 7 article in the Reporter headlined “Why Dorchester needs the Carney Hospital” by Bill Walczak. As a Dorchester resident and retired registered nurse, I am acutely aware of the importance of Carney Hospital in our community.

My experience working at the Neponset Health Center in Dorchester included communicating with Carney staff when our patients needed hospital care for both medical and psychiatric issues. Having this care in the community was a key factor supporting their recovery.

After the Legislature deregulated hospital finance in 1991, for-profit chains and global private equity saw an opportunity for profit, including, incredibly, selling the land from under Carney Hospital. 

Gov. Healey has a tremendous opportunity in this crisis. She can take a foundational step toward creating the comprehensive plan for health for all people in Massachusetts that Bill Walczak notes has not been done, despite our elaborate medical industry. The governor must use her power to declare a public health emergency.

There are capable and committed health care leaders ready to take back health care from the profit-obsessed once the state moves in this direction. I call upon Gov. Healey to act now, before it’s too late.

Rosemary Kean
Codman Hill Avenue