Residents oppose St. Elizabeth's ER expansion

A panel of community members vented concerns about the planned expansion of Caritas St. Elizabeth Medical Center -- where Boston University Student Health Services often sends students in need of hospital attention -- at last night's Community Planning Initiative's monthly meeting in Allston, opposing the location of a proposed emergency room.

St. Elizabeth's has no trauma center. The plan to construct a new emergency room drew initial community support, but the proposed location -- on a picturesque hill and green area near the front of the hospital -- continues to draw strong objections.

"The community supports a new emergency room," said Theresa Hynes, co-chair of the Allston Brighton Community Initiative. "It is the location that is the problem."

"The architectural group has never visibly seen the area they are drawing up blueprints on, not even a picture. Someone needs to show them why it's so important," said Joan Pasquale, director of the Parents and Community Build Group.

Critics of the plan said the hospital has not explored other possible locations, even suggesting St. Elizabeth's should renovate on its extra 14 acres of land.

Hospital representatives did not attend yesterday's meeting, but have been invited to speak at a meeting in December. According to meeting attendees, hospital representatives have said they chose the emergency room's location based on accessibility, saying they want the emergency room to be easily accessible to the operating room.

Residents at the meeting also raised concerns about increased street traffic.

"They want [the emergency room] to be easily accessible?" asked attendee Liz Breadon. "If an ambulance gets stuck on Washington Street at 5 in the afternoon, it's not going to matter, is it?"

St. Elizabeth is estimated to have raised more than $23 million for the project. Hynes said the construction could be delayed pending the results of ongoing studies, but the project currently has no definitive timeline.