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This month’s meeting of the Public Health Council included votes on two Determination of Need (DoN) requests followed by an informational update for the Council from the DPH Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality.

First, the Council took up consideration of a Determination of Need request from the Trustees of Noble Hospital, Inc. of Westfield which would allow a change in ownership through which Baystate Health, Inc. would become Noble Hospital’s parent and sole corporate member. Following a discussion, the Council voted to approve the DoN request.

Following that vote, the Council took up a request from Lawrence General Hospital for a significant change to an approved but not yet implemented project. The amended request involves changes in the cost and financing of a project that would replace the existing operating room suite at the hospital. The Council voted to approve the request.

Finally, representatives from the Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality provided an update to the Council about the Bureau’s Serious Reportable Event program and related quality improvement activities, as well as trends in the types and volume of Serious Reportable Events reported in 2014 and previous years.

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