More than 400 Massachusetts healthcare workers signed an open letter April 16 addressed to hospitals and health systems in the state, calling for them to defend healthcare for immigrants.
As of Wednesday night, the letter received 426 signatures, which is more than half of the target signature count.
The letter, sponsored by the Health and Law Immigration Solidarity Network, advocates for health institutions to “take immediate action to ensure health systems remain welcoming to all patients, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or immigration status,” according to a press release from HLISN.
Lauren Kearney, a member of HLISN and critical care physician, said the measure’s urgency stems from the Trump administration’s rescindment of the “sensitive location” statute — a Biden-era policy which declared churches, schools and hospitals off-limits for federal immigration officers.
“We’ve created this atmosphere of confusion and fear for immigrants,” Kearney said. “That confusion and fear can really interfere with the healthcare process, such that patients are fearful to come to their regularly scheduled appointments to take care of any of their chronic illnesses.”
The letter also seeks to address financial instability faced by healthcare institutions in Massachusetts, a state marred by the Steward Health Care bankruptcy file last year.
Kearney said 20% of Massachusetts’ healthcare workers are immigrants.
“To lose that chunk of our healthcare workforce, and have that chunk of our healthcare workforce subjected to this fear, is going to create even more of a strain on the healthcare institutions,” she said.
Kearney said she heard of an immigrant patient dying from diabetic ketoacidosis, a treatable illness, because they didn’t receive treatment in a timely manner.
“We’re going to continue to see these dire outcomes that should not exist in our current healthcare system,” she said. “That should not be a reality.”
Kearney said she hopes the open letter will inspire local institutions to communicate to patients “how welcome and safe our institutions are,” in addition to sparking change at the federal level.
