Another worker at a Boston-area hospital has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, the sixth to be identified among staff members who all worked on the same floor.
The president of Mass General Brigham’s Newton-Wellesley hospital, Ellen Moloney, confirmed the latest case in a note to “patients and families” posted online. She said the latest tumor was benign and “noncancerous,” just like the five others previously identified among those who either worked or once worked on the hospital’s fifth-floor maternity unit.
The first wave of cases were all reported by nurses, including two diagnosed with meningioma, the most common, benign type of tumor, according the hospital, which is located some 10 miles outside of Boston.
Another six staff members from the same floor have also reported suffering other sorts of health concerns, though no specific details have been provided regarding their conditions.
Upon uncovering the cluster, the Newton hospital launched an investigation “in collaboration with the Department of Occupational Health and Safety,” but did not uncover any “environmental risks which could be linked to the development of a brain tumor,” officials said in a statement. It noted the probe ruled out the water supply, disposable masks, nearby X-rays and chemotherapy treatment on the floor below as potential causes for the outbreak.
Moloney upheld the results of the investigation in announcing the latest tumor diagnosis.
“Based on the results of this rigorous ongoing investigation, we can assure you that no environmental risks have been identified at our hospital,” she said.
Moloney added that employees’ well-being and safety are their “top priority.” But hospital workers have taken issue with their response to the fifth-floor tumor cluster.
“They only spoke to a small number of nurses and their environmental testing was not comprehensive,” the Massachusetts Nurses Association said in a statement to Boston.com. “The hospital cannot make this issue go away by attempting to provide a predetermined conclusion.”
