DEVENS – Healthcare providers and staff of Nashoba Valley Medical Center attended a meeting Thursday where they called on Massachusetts to take action to prevent the hospital from closing.
Call to the state to keep the hospital open
On August 31, Nashoba Valley will nearalong with Carney Hospital in Dorchester. It’s a day that’s coming sooner than expected, and one that feels inevitable to caregivers and local lawmakers trying to stop it.
“The Department of Health and Human Services does not have the ability or authority to prevent or deny the closure of this hospital,” Massachusetts Department of Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said Thursday night during a meeting with hospital officials and lawmakers.
For those working in the hospital, it’s starting to feel like a blame game. They’re stuck between Steward Healthcare to perish and legislation is prevented from doing anything.
“I don’t know how Governor Healey sees it, ‘Oh, it would be great if I closed two, maybe three hospitals,'” said Audra Sprague, a 17-year-old nurse in Nashoba Valley. On July 26, she learned that the hospital would close at the end of August. “The law says you get 120 days, and that gives you time to get everything in order,” Sprague said.
Concerns about the healthcare desert
Sprague was at the meeting Thursday between city leaders, caregivers and the DPH. Everyone is begging for someone to step in.
“That’s 2,000 people in this community who have one thing in common. On September 1, they are at an unacceptable, higher risk of poorer health outcomes,” Senator John Cronin said at the meeting.
A closure of this magnitude will cause massive disruption. Ayer’s fire chief said EMS runs will go from 1.5 miles to 7-10 miles.
“There is a public health desert emerging,” said Jonathan Heimberg, a Lunenberg resident who is being treated at the hospital.
Beth Reposa worked at NVMC for 50 years, but retired when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. She told the audience at the meeting, “I always thought my hospital would be there for me if I needed it.”
“She has nowhere. This was her hospital that was going to take care of her,” Sprague said.
The workers and local lawmakers are calling on Governor Maura Healey to step in and declare a state of emergency for more funding. At this point, the workers don’t even know if they’ll get severance pay.
“They don’t know if they will have enough money to move on to another job or to bridge the gap until retirement,” said Marlishia Aho of the 1199SEIU union.
In a press release, Healey said she is pushing for severance packages for employees in their negotiations. The MassHire Rapid Response team will also host job fairs.
