H 2525

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1562  FILED ON: 1/15/2025
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2525
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _________________
  PRESENTED BY:
  John H. Rogers
  _________________
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.
  _______________
  PETITION OF:
NAME:  DISTRICT/ADDRESS:  DATE ADDED:
John H. Rogers  12th Norfolk  1/15/2025
Marcus S. Vaughn  9th Norfolk  10/8/2025
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  HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1562  FILED ON: 1/15/2025
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2525
By Representative Rogers of Norwood, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2525) of
John H. Rogers relative to establishing a Norwood hospital working group. Public Health.
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
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:
1(a) The secretary of health and human services shall convene a working group to study
2 and make recommendations to establish and operate an acute care hospital in the town of
3 Norwood. The working group shall: (i) study the scope of care provided by Norwood Hospital as
4 previously operated by Steward Health Care prior to June 28 of 2020; (ii) solicit input from
5 stakeholders as well as experts in construction, hospital operation, and public health; (iii) issue
6 recommendations with the goal of creating an acute care hospital in the town of Norwood which
7 to provide comparable service to that in Norwood prior to June 28 of 2020.
8(b) The secretary shall or their designee shall serve on the working group as its chair
9 and shall appoint the following members to the working group: the commissioner of the
10 Massachusetts department of public health or their designee; the representative of the 12th
11 Norfolk district in the Massachusetts house of representatives or their designee; the senator
12 representing the Norfolk and Suffolk district in the Massachusetts senate or their designee; the
13 representative of Massachusetts’s 8th congressional district in the United States house of
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14 representatives or their designee; 1 member who shall represent the Massachusetts Nurses
15 Association; 1 member who shall represent Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts; the chief
16 of the fire department in the Town of Norwood or their designee; the chief of the police
17 department in the town of Norwood or their designee; and the chair of the Norwood select board.
18(c) The working group shall first convene no later than 30 days after the final
19 passage of this act and shall issue a report of its findings and any recommendation with the
20 clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the joint committee on public health, and
21 the joint committee on ways and means not later than 120 days after its initial meeting.
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