Task force seeks buyer for Norwood Hospital; town posts community health assessment presentation

During the director's update on April 28, the Board of Health heard several status reports on the Norwood Hospital effort, a community health assessment by a university class, and the status of public-health grant funding.

Stacy (the director providing the update) said the Norwood Hospital task force visited the hospital construction site on April 18 and that small working groups have formed to gather data, public information and potential buyers. "There's working groups within the task force that meet regularly...gathering data and trying to find somebody to purchase the hospital," Stacy said. She added the task force's outreach included media coverage of the site visit.

Board members asked whether state officials had changed their prior stance on declaring a local need for a community hospital. Stacy said the task force was seeking an "expedited determination of need" from the Department of Public Health so potential buyers would not face a lengthy 18‑month process; she said she did not know whether the expedited determination had been granted. She told the board the task force continues to collect data for that request and to seek interested purchasers.

The director also said Boston University students completed a community health assessment as a class project and will present findings at a recorded session on May 7 at 6:15 p.m.; the recording will be posted on the health department website.

On grants, the director reported the contact-tracing funding that had supported shared services was being returned to the state and will not be available for FY 2026, though local funding remains for the current year. She said the SAMHSA grant that funds the mental-health training has about one year remaining; the DFC (Drug-Free Communities) grant is in year seven of a ten-year award; and the Public Health Excellence Grant is not federal and is expected to continue.

A board member referenced a rough cost figure for redeveloping the hospital (about $200 million) that they said they'd seen on a website; the director noted significant capital would be required but did not endorse a specific estimate. The board did not take votes on matters related to the hospital at the meeting; updates were informational.