The number of staff members who have developed brain tumors while working on the same floor of a Boston-area hospital has increased to at least six, according to the facility’s leadership.
A recent statement attributed to the president of Mass General Brigham’s Newton-Wellesley hospital, Ellen Moloney, said the newly reported tumor was benign, as were five previously documented ones. The statement maintained that investigators had not turned up any evidence of environmental risks at the hospital, though their work remained ongoing.
Nonetheless, even before the number of staffers with tumors jumped, a labor union representing nurses at the hospital had pledged to press for answers.
That pledge came after Newton-Wellesley hospital’s leadership initially confirmed that five nurses had reported developing non-cancerous growths in their brains after having worked on the facility’s fifth-floor maternity unit at some point.
The sixth case – described as having been reported by a staffer rather than a nurse – was disclosed in the statement from Moloney, which the Boston.com news website first reported on.
An additional half-dozen staff members with experience working on the floor in question reported other health concerns that did not involve brain tumors, Newton-Wellesley officials have said.
The hospital has repeatedly suggested there is no evidence to establish that the situation is anything more than a coincidence – albeit one which was unusual enough to have captured attention on the national news and social media after word about it spread.
Moloney alluded to how the hospital had worked internal and governmental occupational offices while also consulting with outside environmental experts. Testing since then has examined the hospital’s water, radiation levels, air quality and other factors, according to a 2 April memo from the facility.
“Based on the results of this rigorous ongoing investigation, we can assure you that no environmental risks have been identified at our hospital,” Moloney’s more recent statement said.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association has said it is conducting its own investigation, despite the hospital’s assurances.
The union argued that “the hospital only spoke to a small number of nurses” and that the “environmental testing was not comprehensive”.
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The union told NBC10 Boston that it received more than 300 survey responses, emails, and telephone calls from nurses and other professionals working at the hospital – as well as from former employees.
Union officials reportedly said: “It will take several weeks to sort through the information … vet it and obtain follow-up, including medical records, if respondents are willing to provide them.” They also said: “The hospital cannot make this issue go away by attempting to provide a predetermined conclusion.”
Moloney’s statement, for its part, alluded to “a great deal of misinformation shared on social media and in other forums”.
“Health, wellbeing, and safety – along with that of our employees – remain our top priority,” Moloney’s statement said. “We want to make sure you have the facts.”
