The Grossman Burn Center has been operating out of Memorial Hospital since 2015; but after 11 years, it’s set to shut its doors. The news of the closure has led to nurses and supporters speaking out.
“I want this burn center to stay here, because if we didn't have it here our daughter wouldn’t be here,” said Robin Peters.
“She wouldn’t have made it anywhere else,” said Rick Peters.
Parents Robin and Rick Peters spent five and a half months inside the Grossman Burn Center with their 14 year old daughter, who was in a bonfire accident.
The Peters say their daughter turns 21 next week adding that wouldn’t have been possible without the center.
Nurses and family members of burn victims protested the burn center's closure early Thursday morning.
“We want to make sure that our patients are cared for in our community. Health and safety is the utmost important,” said Operating room nurse and President of the California Nurses Association Sandy Reding. “We really want the community’s support today and we really want to keep our burn unit open.”
Memorial Hospital is owned and run by Dignity Health. Nurses say they received a letter two weeks ago informing them that the contract with the Grossman Burn Center Foundation would be canceled as of June 30.
This means patients will have to travel to Fresno for treatment at a burn center.
We reached out to Dignity Health for comment.
A statement from a spokesperson reads in part, “This challenging decision, made after an extensive review, revealed consistently low patient volumes within the Burn Center, impacting the efficient utilization of highly specialized staff and resources. Even as this specialized service concludes, our emergency department will continue to provide immediate burn care for patients, ensuring essential access to initial treatment.”
Registered nurse Lindsay Goodrick has been working in the burn unit for 9 years and says there have been times where the unit has gotten so full, patients have had to be moved to other units.
“Time is of the essence and it could be a matter of life and death at that point,” said Goodrick. “This is not to speak to the toll that that type of commute would also take on the families.”
Burn survivor Jose Lopez says the burn center saved his life and says it has the potential to continue to save lives right here in Kern County.
“Just like me there’s going to be more people that are going to get burned,” said Lopez. “Every minute that you’re burned its crucial to get the help that you need.”
With a confirmed closure date, nurses say what remains unclear is the state of their jobs and are waiting for more information to become available.
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