Gordon Dean v. Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Correctional Unit (SPR 20230752)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 1, 2023 SPR23/0752 Records Custodian Lemuel Shattuck Hospital 170 Morton Street Boston, MA 02130 Dear Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, I have received the petition of Gordon Dean appealing the nonresponse of the Lamuel Shattuck Hospital (Hospital) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 18, 2023, Mr. Dean requested “the name and brand of a mesh screen used in hernia surgery.” Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within 10 business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § l0(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § l0(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal and a communication from a member of the Public Records Division staff, it is not clear that a response has been provided. Accordingly, the Hospital is ordered to provide Mr. Dean with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Gordon Dean One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us