Brigham and Women’s Hospital nurses are speaking out in opposition to plans to merge the hospital’s burn unit with Mass General’s in 2026, which they argue damages generations of institutional knowledge in treating burn patients, the Massachusetts Nurses Association stated Tuesday. “We will fight to ensure this highly specialized care remains available to the patients who rely on the Brigham,” said Kelly Morgan, labor and delivery nurse and BWH MNA Chair. “Our nurses’ expertise is irreplaceable, and we will not allow corporate decisions to override what is best for patients, staff, and our community.” Brigham and Women’s nurses were notified Monday that Mass General Brigham intended to move the hospital’s burn unit to merge into a single statewide program at Massachusetts General Hospital, the union said. If the plan gains regulatory approval, the units would be merged as of March 2026 and the current Tower 8 burn unit would transition to serve critical care patients. On Tuesday, the hospital notified the Department of Public Health of the intended change, the MNA said. MNA, which represents about 4, 000 BWH nurses, said it’s members “strongly oppose the move,” noting they “believe this change will weaken the hospital’s ability to care for some of the most critically injured patients.” Mass General Brigham did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plan as of Tuesday evening. The union’s contract prevents forced transfer of the nurses, MNA said, meaning the “nationally respected team of highly specialized burn nurses” would be able to choose to remain at BWH. “Brigham burn unit nurses are not only experts, but they are also deeply committed to the Brigham,” said PACU nurse and the hospital’s MNA Vice Chair Jim McCarthy, adding their contract “ensures better retirement protections, better health insurance choice, and stronger workplace protections than what is available at non-union hospitals like MGH.” MNA noted other contract terms including a pension and job protections at BWH. “We expect most burn unit nurses will choose to stay because of the union difference at BWH,” McCarthy said. The loss of burn unit nurses working in the field, the union said, “risks diminishing institutional knowledge” that has existed at the hospital over generations. The announcement comes months after Mass General Brigham announced hundreds of layoffs across the hospital system in February to bridge a $250 million budget gap projected over the next two years. MNA officials argued the consolidation is “being driven by system-level decisions rather than by patient need.” “Brigham nurses bring extraordinary clinical skill, specialized training, and decades of experience in burn care to this hospital,” said Morgan. “These skills belong here at the Brigham, not moved across the system. Our patient care community deserves direct access to burn expertise at BWH.”.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/11/26/brigham-and-womens-nurses-oppose-move-to-merge-burn-units-into-single-systemwide-program-at-mgh/