Snow information: Tuesday, March 20, 3:00 pm

Although today marks the official first day of spring, a storm is again expected to hit the Boston region. Current projections from the National Weather Service call for snow to start mid-morning tomorrow with 2 to 4 inches of accumulation and it will continue through the night, with an additional 7 to 11 inches possible by Thursday morning.

Hospital capacity continues to be a significant issue. All efforts to expedite discharges today and tomorrow are appreciated. Please enter all pending discharges in the system to assist with ongoing capacity planning.

The hospital will remain open and operational throughout the storm unless specifically noted. In accordance with our Severe Weather and Emergency Conditions Policy, employees should consider their personal safety and use their best judgment when deciding whether to come to work. Any employee who is scheduled to work but is unable to make it in must use Earned Time.

As a reminder, your MGH employee ID badge serves as a disaster pass in the case of a public emergency and allows travel. Please give yourself extra time so you may travel safely throughout the storm.

Please review the information below related to hospital operations:

Overnight accommodations:
The hospital will set up a sleep area available from 8 pm Wednesday night (March 21) until 7 am Thursday with cots for staff who would like to stay overnight.

To reserve a spot in a shared sleep room:

  1. Call the Materials Management Office customer service line at 617-726-9144 to make a reservation.
  2. When ready to check-in to sleep, staff must go to the Materials Management Customer Service Office (Lunder Lower Level, Room 020) to receive a room assignment and linens.
  • Materials Management will not provide individual callbacks to staff.
  • Staff must go to Materials Management in-person to receive a sleep room assignment.
  • Staff may cancel a sleep room reservation by calling the Materials Management Office at 617-726-9144.

Ambulatory Practices:
MGH ambulatory practices will be open tomorrow and staffed to see patients. The hospital continues to monitor updated weather reports and based on the tracking of the storm, hospital leadership will reassess the need for operational changes as necessary.

Transportation and parking:
The MBTA is expected to be operational. Staff should visit https://mbta.com/winter for the latest updates.

Staff coming to the hospital after 1:30 pm on Wednesday can park in the front garages. If an employee does not have any parking programmed on their ID, they can pull a ticket to enter the garage. When exiting, employees who have pulled a ticket should go to the Cashier Office and show their MGH ID to exit at no charge.

At this time, all employees should park in their assigned parking facilities on Thursday, March 22.

Snow removal:
Any issues related to snow or ice removal should be reported to the Buildings and Grounds Operations Office at 617-726-2422, 24/7.

Ways to stay informed about severity and impact of the storm:

The Severe Weather and Emergency Conditions hotline also is available 24 hours per day and is updated as new information is available: 866-798-8402.

As always, we thank you for your hard work and dedication.