January 20, 2006

MGH and NSMC expand ambulatory care services

The MGH and North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) announced last week plans to develop jointly a 115,000-square-foot ambulatory care center and a 50,000-square-foot medical office building on the North Shore off Route 128 that would enhance access to and delivery of medical services north of Boston.

The new facility will offer more sophisticated services than any existing or proposed outpatient facility in the region. The facility will not only provide the latest in cardiac diagnostics, suites for minimally invasive surgery and advanced imaging services, but also will serve as the expanded home of the new MGH/NSMC Cancer Center, a collaborative oncology program with the MGH and Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare.

Current plans for the outpatient center do not involve licensed hospital beds or emergency services. Rather, this facility is being designed to complement inpatient and outpatient services provided at NSMC Salem and Union hospitals.

"NSMC and the MGH collectively care for tens of thousands of patients who live and work on the North Shore, and we are focused on creating a facility that will ensure that the highest quality of care continues to be available in that community for years to come," says David Torchiana, MD, CEO and chairman of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization. "This center brings to our patients the benefits of academic and community medical centers working collaboratively."

The preferred site for the new ambulatory care center is in Danvers, where NSMC has successfully operated the NSMC Women's Center since 1997. Final negotiations on the site are contingent upon zoning updates to be addressed at the Danvers town meeting later this month. Pending final site selection, NSMC and MGH physicians may see their first patients at the joint center in 2008.