Seventeen communities in the shadow of the Nashoba Valley Medical Center are now in their second week of coping with the fallout from Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy and the closure of the hospital.
“I really think it’s a state of shock,” said state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, a Democrat representing the Middlesex and Worcester District. “I know I continue to get emails from people really upset [about] the injustice of a community hospital closing in their area, especially when you see the other Steward hospitals that will remain open.”
With Nashoba Valley shut down, local first responders are also feeling the sting. Ayer Fire Chief Timothy Johnston said his department’s two ambulances used to transport most patients less than 3 miles. Now his first responders are traveling closer to 15 miles to reach hospitals in Clinton, Concord and Lowell.
“We’re not back in service for 1 to 2 hours. So, we end up having those calls where both our ambulances are on the road out of town, not in our response area,” he said.
Johnston added the department has four people working 24/7, but when they’re out on a call they must backfill with off-duty members or call department members to staff the station.
The full impact that Nashoba Valley Medical Center’s absence is having on Ayer’s emergency services still needs to be determined, but Johnson said he’s keeping close track of how it’s unfolding and what it will mean for the town’s budget.
There have been no reported deaths connected to Nashoba’s closure, but local leaders say they’re worried that the hospital’s absence could lead to tragedy.
“We’re listening to our fire chiefs, to our EMS professionals, many of whom testified at these public hearings and said 'This is this is going to cost lives,'” Sen. Eldridge said.
He said he holds Steward Health Care accountable for the closure, but he wishes the state had done more to prevent Nashoba Valley and Carney Hospital in Dorchester — both working class communities — from becoming health care deserts.
“I was a bit heartbroken that there wasn’t this commitment or outreach effort or true assessment to try to keep all of the hospitals running,” he said.
Eldridge said he remains optimistic that Nashoba Valley Medical Center will reopen in a new way. But right now, there is no definitive plan.
“I did not think this would happen in Massachusetts,” he said. “And we’re trying to figure out how to get back to that quality of health care that did exist in these regions.”
