ProJo: Raimondo-Era Consultant Assumed Zambarano Unit Would Close

PROVIDENCE, RI — A consultant hired by the administration of former Governor Gina Raimondo recommended closing the state-run Zambarano unit of the Eleanor Slater Hospital in Burrillville, according to a report that was shielded from public view for more than 18 months.

The Providence Journal last week procured a copy of the Oct. 31, 2019 report by the Alvarez & Marsal consulting group. "Assume closure of Zambarano Campus, transitioning those patients to Nursing Homes (and other various levels of care)," the long-withheld report stated.

The report envisioned one scenario where the hospital would not bill for Medicaid. Some patients would transition to a psychiatric hospital, and federal match would be captured "for patients transitioning into community-based settings and Nursing homes."

The Raimondo administration over 18 months then suspended efforts to collect up to $70 million in federal reimbursements, ProJo reported. It wasn't until a year after the consultants finished their report that lawmakers were briefed on a cost-cutting plan that involved restructuring two hospital campuses and discharging many patients to different settings.

A building on the Zambarano campus of the Eleanor Slater State Hospital in Burrillville (Patch)

Gov. Dan McKee inherited the plan from Raimondo to overhaul and downsize the financially troubled state hospital. Under pressure, McKee put the brakes on those plans. Eleanor Slater houses forensic and non-forensic psychiatric patients at its Cranston campus, and patients requiring complex medical care at its campus in Burrillville.

Two Republican lawmakers who represent Burrillville previously charged that hospital administrators were implementing a "shadow closure" of Zambarano. In a March 15 letter, Sen. Jessica de la Cruz and Rep. David Place accused administrators of fabricating unrealistic criteria for admission, and of improperly pressuring physicians to discharge patients.

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McKee visited the Zambarano unit on Thursday where one of his top aides reportedly called the Alvarez & Marsal report "unacceptable" and said the facility is not going to close, ProJo reported.

Kathryn Power, former director of the state's Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, had previously denied there was a move afoot to close Zambarano, but would not release the Alvarez & Marsal report.

The report was finally released Friday by Womazetta Jones, the new director of BHDDH.

A second report released Friday documented a Feb. 22 inspection by the state fire marshal's office. The inspector found numerous violations, some of which were minor, at the Burrillville campus. However, a problem with leaking and mislabeled oxygen valves forced the temporary relocation of oxygen-dependent patients while repairs were made. A spokesman for the McKee administration said the 112 violations identified by the fire inspector have been remedied.

Read more at The Providence Journal