State Sen. Nick Collins wants UMass Boston’s nursing school to consider re-using part of the abandoned Carney Hospital property in Dorchester as a satellite campus. He has filed an amendment to a state budget bill that would set aside $2.5 million “for the planning and design of expanded facilities for the Manning College of Nursing & Health Sciences.”
According to a statement from Collins’s office, the money would also underwrite “a feasibility study, conducted in partnership with health officials, property owners, and community stakeholders,” to explore the extent of the proposal for the onetime hospital site.
“This amendment puts into action what the Dorchester Working Group laid out: It’s worth seriously exploring whether the Carney site can welcome a partner with the staying power of UMass Boston,” said Collins. “It would bring in an institution with a proven commitment to the community, strengthen our healthcare system, give students access to hands-on training through our community health centers, and open a real pathway to good-paying, in-demand jobs in nursing and health sciences. That’s a win for public health, workforce development, and the Dorchester community.”
Collins is a member of the working group that he refers to in his statement. The group, co-chaired by the city of Boston’s public health chief Dr. Bisola Ojikutu and Michael Curry of the Mass League of Community Health Centers, published a 61-page report on the Carney’s potential re-use in April.
There was no specific prescription for what should replace the shuttered hospital and medical office building, but the report’s top recommendation was that the restoration of “direct health care services” was the number one priority for the community and the leaders on the panel. The report also left the door open for a mix of re-uses, including housing and other social services.
It’s not yet clear Collins’s line item will pass muster on Beacon Hill. It’s included in a supplemental budget that has not been finalized. And UMass already has plans for advancing its nursing program that don’t include the old Carney in any way.
But credit goes to Collins— who was a staunch advocate for preventing Carney’s closure in the first place— for advancing a specific idea for the Dorchester site at a time when there’s too little public discussion about this disgraceful giant vacancy in Boston’s biggest neighborhood. The working group’s report was deliberately broad and unspecific for many reasons, a chief one being that the Carney site is privately owned and is currently being marketed for sale by a huge commercial realtor.
In a statement, Collins told The Reporter that he feels his idea fits well with the spirit of the report, which was sent to Gov. Healey, who has been radio silent on the topic of Carney since it closed last summer, and Mayor Wu, who has been very vocal in saying she wants the Dot Ave site re-used for health care purposes.
Elements of a nursing school would fit that model. In fact, the Carney’s campus for many years housed Laboure, a Catholic nursing college that is now based nearby in Milton.
“Following the Working Group’s recommendations means building with the community, not over it,” added Collins. “This can only succeed with continued engagement and collaboration, but if we get it right, this project can serve Dorchester and the Commonwealth for generations to come.”
Bill Forry is the executive editor and co-publisher of the Reporter.
