New Members
Henry Schwan
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
UMass Memorial Health plans to build an emergency department in North Central Massachusetts to fill the health care void left by last summer's closing of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer.
The health system announced the planned move Wednesday afternoon in a statement to the Telegram & Gazette.
"We understand the challenges that the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center has caused for the region, and we have been listening closely to the concerns of impacted patients and the legislators that represent them," the statement said.
"As a result, we have made the decision to step in to support the community by building a new standalone emergency department in the Nashoba Valley region that also offers certain imaging services. We believe this solution can fill the community’s critical needs and address their primary areas of concern.
"Significant work" remains to build the emergency department, the statement said.
UMass Memorial Health did not buy the former hospital site, according to the health system's spokesperson. That location was the first option for a new emergency department, but it didn't work out, so UMass is focused on other locations, said the spokesperson.
“Today’s announcement that UMass Memorial will be the new operator of a satellite emergency facility in our region is welcome and critical news for our region,” said Rep. Margaret Scarsdale, D-Pepperell, in a statement.
Scarsdale's statement made it clear that there's more work to do to ensure access to quality care in the Nashoba Valley region. She said community partners are working with the state to eventually make more recommendations to ensure residents have access to a complete range of services.
"Today marks the beginning of a new path forward for health care access in the Nashoba Valley and for our communities to have access to the care they deserve," Scarsdale said.
Bankrupt Steward Health Care shut down Nashoba Valley Medical Center Aug. 31 because it claimed no qualified buyer had made an offer for the hospital.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association and some state lawmakers representing the Nashoba Valley region blasted Gov. Maura T. Healey for, they charged, not doing enough to save the hospital.
Wednesday, the union's statement to the T&G said it appreciated the move by UMass, but the solution to fill the "dire need" for health care services in the region would be to reopen the Nashoba Valley emergency department and its other services.
"Suggesting that they will find land, plan and develop a new ED, recruit staff and get required approvals in a rapid time frame is not possible," said the union's statement. "Building a new stand alone ED outside of Nashoba is unlikely to bring any relief for a period of two years — the community does not have that luxury."
Apollo Global Management owns the former hospital site. If Apollo is preventing a sale of the property, the union said, it's time for an immediate solution as the community is facing a "public health crises and we should treat it as such."
A request to Apollo for comment was not immediately returned.
Several fire department chiefs in the region have said their departments face a crisis of longer ambulance rides to other hospitals since Nashoba Valley Medical Center's closure — a situation that has impacted their ability to handle other emergencies.
The chiefs wanted Healey's administration to include $9.6 million in the state’s fiscal 2025 supplemental budget to help pay for emergency medical response that's been stretched thin. The supplemental budget included $425 million for emergency shelters for migrants, but no funding for ambulance trips and other emergency services in the Nashoba Valley region.
A working group of fire chiefs, lawmakers, town officials and advocates was formed in September by the Healey administration to eventually make recommendations on how to fill the health care void left after Nashoba Valley's closure. A Healey spokesperson said last month the administration expects long-term solutions soon from the working group.
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