Norwood leaders, lawmakers and first responders push state for quick plan to reopen Norwood Hospital

At a public meeting in Norwood, town officials, first responders and elected lawmakers urged swift state action to reopen the Norwood acute care hospital and outlined legal, financial and operational obstacles to restarting care.

Town Manager Tony Mazzucco described the hospital's closure, the regional impact and the steps the town and its delegation have taken. Paul Ronco, president of the Norwood firefighters union, described longer ambulance transports and repeated mutual-aid calls. U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and state Rep. John Rogers outlined recent discussions with the Baker and Healey administrations, a pending court case over the hospital's regulatory status, and the need for a viable hospital operator.

The hospital closed after a major storm in June 2020, Mazzucco said, and more than 130 patients were evacuated that night without injury. He told the meeting the facility previously served a large regional catchment — roughly a quarter-million people — and that in its last full year of operation the hospital recorded about 126,000 patient encounters and roughly 42,000 emergency-department visits. Mazzucco said private investment and…