A South Boston Democrat needs to place cash behind a research that would result in a medical ship within the Harbor to primarily serve Mass and Cass homeless coping with psychological well being points or substance abuse.
A floating hospital designed to serve folks residing in tents addresses what state Sen. Nick Collins calls a medical amenities scarcity within the metropolis. A medical ship may present sufferers with a better degree of acute care in a setting utterly centered on psychological well being and substance use, Collins mentioned.
“We need an interim solution to a facilities problem that doesn’t allow for us right now to intervene on demand,” Collins informed the Herald. “What do you do? You need to provide the resources that don’t take over hospitals and communities.”
Senators this week accepted Collins’ thought as an modification to their fiscal 2024 finances.
Collins needs to offer the Department of Mental Health $50,000 to check the feasibility of changing a decommissioned ship or one other water-based vessel right into a floating hospital for psychological well being, substance use therapy, and restoration companies.
A report from the division could be as a result of House and Senate by Feb. 15, 2024. The thought nonetheless wants approval from the House, which is able to quickly begin hashing out a last fiscal 2024 finances with the Senate, and finally, Gov. Maura Healey.
Researchers at MIT have already studied the potential of turning a decommissioned cruise ship into reasonably priced housing models. A February 2023 report discovered changing a cruise ship “is feasible, and offers crucial advantages over comparable land-based approaches.”
“The elimination of new construction, the existing habitable arrangements, and the availability of large-volume spaces for amenities suggest a compelling candidate to creatively address the affordable housing shortage besetting scores of cities and millions of citizens across the country,” the MIT report mentioned earlier than recommending extra evaluation on the thought.
And Collins’ finances language directs the Department of Mental Health to seek the advice of with MIT’s naval development and marine engineering program to determine if a floating hospital is feasible.
The South Boston Democrat mentioned a Boston-based floating hospital ship is nothing new for the town.
The Floating Hospital for Children — which might later turn into Tufts Children’s Hospital — was a medical crusing ship in Boston Harbor the place youngsters may search out therapy. A Nineteen Twenties fireplace ultimately moved amenities onshore.
Collins mentioned the floating hospital “provided an important healthcare response to an untenable situation with an incredibly vulnerable population.”
“And I see this as very similar,” Collins mentioned. “These are the commonwealth’s children. They are someone’s sister. They’re someone’s daughter, someone’s loved one, who are being victimized, particularly at Mass and Cass. And our current public and mental health infrastructure cannot handle the rapid and robust response needed to solve this crisis.”
Rebuilding a therapy middle on Boston Harbor’s Long Island and a bridge connecting the island to the mainland has lengthy been seen as one other answer to the problems at Mass and Cass. But a battle between Quincy and Boston officers has put a pause on development efforts.
Mayor Michelle Wu mentioned this month that Boston plans to maneuver ahead with rebuilding the bridge to the island, although she acknowledged it carries a “hefty price tag” and any transportation possibility would take “multiple years” to place in place.
“We are rounding the bend, I think, on the last set of permits for the ability to create that bridge and reactivate transportation to the island,” Wu mentioned on WCVB’s On The Record. “This is a city-owned 250 acres of land that has some buildings which need updating and maintaining because they’ve fallen down a little bit but it has the history of being an important hub for services and treatment.”
Collins mentioned a floating hospital may doubtlessly dock at Long Island.
“While there’s ongoing discussions and debates about the future of Long Island and how to access it,” he mentioned, “this is something that’s climate resilient.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”