A state-mandated analysis of the plan says it won't drive medical costs for the region. But opponents say expansion won't improve care for area residents.
Opponents of a $1 billion expansion planned at Boston Children's Hospital that would demolish a beloved garden say the proposal "is explicitly designed to serve international and out-of-state patients, with no clear need for its planned services among Massachusetts families."
The group Save the Prouty Garden made the claim after reviewing an analysis of the project. Navigant Group conducted the analysis for Boston Children's, which was mandated by the state's Department of Public Health, to answer questions about the expansion's impact on healthcare in the state.
"Navigant's analysis shows that BCH does not need to expand. It wants to expand, to target more international patients and raise revenue," said Gus Murby, spokesman for Ten Taxpayer Group, which has intervened with DPH to block the expansion.
Hospital Expansion Threatens Beloved Patient Garden
The 46-page report, however, is mostly favorable toward the expansion and says it would not drive up medical costs for the region.
"The project is consistent with the Commonwealth's efforts to meet the healthcare cost containment goals," the report states, according to The Boston Globe. "The project's short-term and long-term financing are affordable without utilization or pricing changes."
The report marks the latest development in a controversy that has simmered since the project was announced earlier this year.
"We have reached the limits," BCH CEO Sandra L. Fenwick said in February. "Our partners, our patients, and the families and staff lie at the very heart of the plans we brought to you today. To increase our capacity to heal, we must modernize."
The proposed $1 billion expansion calls for an 11-story, 575,000-square-foot addition, which the hospital says will boost the patient experience by eliminating all of double-bed rooms, enhancing privacy, sleeping spaces, and showers.
Opponents sued the hospital in April, alleging that the hospital broke the law when it broke ground on the project before receiving DPH approval. Among several complaints, opponents claimed the hospital, which is one of the most expensive in Massachusetts, is retreating from caring for the poor.