The Lynn City Council on Tuesday, October 27 refused to let Mass General Brigham change the signs on its clinic at 480 Lynnfield Street from “urgent care” to “express care,” and used the vote to revisit the loss of the city’s hospitals.
The request came through a public hearing on a sign permit. Jason Perillo of Metro Sign in Tewksbury told the council that Mass General Brigham had received a sign special permit for the building in 2021 and wanted only to modify it. “The services offered have not changed. It’s just a branding and messaging change,” he said. No one from Mass General Brigham attended.
No member of the public spoke for or against. Councilor-at-Large Brian Field moved to deny the permit, Ward 7 Councilor Jordan Avery seconded, and the roll call was 10 to 0 to deny. Councilor-at-Large Hong Net was absent on a scheduled vacation.
“They deserve no privileges”
Field said his motion was about more than lettering. He recalled that Lynn once had two hospitals, that Lynn Hospital closed under Atlantic Care Medical Center, and that Union Hospital closed about ten years ago after Partners HealthCare consolidated services into Salem Hospital. “Whether they’re Atlantic Care Medical Center, whether they are Partners, or whether they are Mass General Brigham, they have done a disservice, in my opinion, to the residents in the city of Lynn,” he said. “They deserve no privileges on behalf of this council to change any wording to any sign.”
He said the system’s attention should be on settling its nurses’ contract dispute at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and on not cutting more positions. “Signs aren’t going to improve care for patients within the city of Lynn,” Field said. “They’re not going to decrease wait times at Salem emergency room or other partner hospitals.”
Another councilor said the change itself would confuse patients. Residents know what “urgent care” means when they are thinking about where to go and what insurance covers, she said, while “express care” raises new questions, particularly for people whose first language is not English. Perillo said the system is renaming all of its locations and that the message is meant to be “it’s not just urgent, it’s fast.”
The clerk clarified before the roll call that a yes vote was a vote to deny. All ten councilors present voted yes.
Also at the meeting
- The council voted 10 to 0 for a resolution supporting the striking members of UNITE HERE Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25 at Encore Boston Harbor in Everett. See the companion report on the rest of the meeting.
- Lauren Drago was confirmed 10 to 0 as principal planning director and as chief of planning and community development.
- Robert Stilian was appointed to the Lynn Traffic Commission on an 8 to 2 vote after a split committee interview.
- The council authorized a $425,000 state park grant application for Ames Park at 30 Strawberry Avenue.
The full meeting, including the subcommittee sessions that preceded it, is on Lynn Community Television.
