Nashoba Valley leaders report persistent emergency response struggles six months after hospital closure
Craig Sandler/SHNS
Nashoba Valley Medical Center closed in August 2024.
Local leaders, first responders and medical providers offered long-awaited recommendations Wednesday for restoring some health care services and alleviating ongoing transportation and emergency response concerns in the Nashoba Valley, where a Steward Health Care hospital closed last summer.
While no operator has stepped up to reopen Nashoba Valley Medical Center, a working group tasked with assessing unmet needs in that health care void pointed to some major progress in recent months in a new report. UMass Memorial Health in January announced it was exploring opening a standalone emergency department near the shuttered hospital, a project that could take two years to open.
"We are deeply committed to implementing community-driven solutions to this region's health care future and preserving the medical services that communities in the area need and deserve," Robert Pontbriand, Ayer town manager and working group co-chair, said in a statement. "This report represents an important step forward, but our work is far from finished. We will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders to implement solutions, as practical, and strengthen the health care infrastructure that will improve the health of the residents of the Nashoba Valley."
Healey launched the work group in September, alongside a separate panel assessing the impact of Carney Hospital's closure in Dorchester. That group was due to have issued its recommendations in early 2025.
State health officials say the "financial feasibility" of reopening Nashoba Valley Medical Center continues to be a "significant barrier."
"The Nashoba Valley does not meet federal criteria for a rural designation or critical access hospital status, both designations that would offer additional federal funding," the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said.
Following Nashoba's closure, other hospitals in the area are experiencing higher patient volumes and longer wait times. Emergency responders are also grappling with longer trips, with the average median transport time rising from 12 to 17 minutes after Nashoba shuttered on Aug. 31.
Thirteen fire chiefs from the Nashoba Valley, alongside town managers and state lawmakers, in December called on Healey to invest $9.6 million to "stabilize" the region's emergency medical response system in a supplemental budget or another "appropriate" vehicle.
In the new report, an emergency service subcommittee broadly invokes a "funding request" for the fiscal 2026 budget from "EMS providers across entire region." The Department of Public Health previously provided $250,000 to affected communities to cover wear and tear on ambulances, and to buy new vehicles and equipment, the report said.
For future opportunities, the subcommittee also recommends expanding EMS training programs at community colleges and exploring regional governance models to improve EMS coordination.
Canvassers with the nonprofit Health Care For All said they managed to have nearly 5,000 conversations about Nashoba's closure after knocking on doors in Ayer, Devens, Fitchburg, Groton, Harvard, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley and Townsend.
Some 54% of residents said no longer having an emergency room nearby was their top concern, while 20% cited their loss of access to medical specialties, according to Health Care For All. Nearly 60% of residents said they'll have to now seek treatment at an urgent care center, while 20% plan to visit a hospital "even further away."
The work group's transportation subcommittee said immediate community needs include boosting "connectivity" between on-demand and fixed-route transportation services, and investing in a ride service for people with non-acute medical needs to reduce pressure on EMS.
In a sign of progress, the report notes the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority started a free shuttle service in February that provides rides to Emerson Hospital in Concord and on-demand transit to an outpatient facility. The Ayer Senior Center also received funding to hire a second driver, and separate funding has been secured to start a regional coordinating council.
While there's "strong interest in reopening a full acute care hospital" among the community, the work group said that option was beyond its "scope."
Instead, members advocated for taking a tiered approach to restoring essential services to the Nashoba Valley "as soon as possible," beginning with an emergency department and cardiac lab, among other care needs, before focusing on services like cardiac rehab, oncology, mammography and geriatric psychiatric services. Home-based health care services should also be expanded in the region, the report said.
Hospitals involved with the work group have introduced new services to keep up with demand and fill the gap left by Nashoba's closure, including a recently added 25-bed inpatient "flex unit" and a new "cardiology suite" at HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital's Leominster campus, according to the report.
Emerson Hospital expanded hours at Littleton Urgent Care, located about eight miles away from Nashoba, and signed a contract to bring on a "secondary" ambulance service. Southern New Hampshire Health at the end of March plans to provide services at a reopened urgent care facility in Pepperell.
Some work group members are expected to keep meeting, including the subcommittee focused on exploring outpatient care options and supporting UMass Memorial Health's future emergency facility, the report said.
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