Boston - On September 25, 2024, Governor Maura Healey announced the creation of two working groups focused on stabilizing and revitalizing health care in communities impacted by Steward Health Care’s closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer and Carney Hospital in Dorchester.

Using data, community feedback and input from key stakeholders in each community, the working groups will bring recommendations to officials at the state and local level to promote equitable access to care. As part of the working groups, key stakeholders will provide information, guidance, and support as regions identify and work through a range of issues related to the continuity of care, transitions and reconfigurations of health care services. 

The working groups will include providers that serve the respective communities including hospitals, community health centers, physicians, public health officials, labor leaders, emergency service providers, community leaders and elected and local government officials. There will be forums through which community members may provide feedback.

“Our administration recognizes the widespread impacts that a hospital closure has on its community,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Massachusetts is home to the brightest minds in health care, human services, education, business and government. We’re going to bring together community and industry leaders to develop a game plan to not only protect but improve health care in the regions most impacted by Steward’s greed and mismanagement.”

“This administration is about meeting people where they are and bringing people together to deliver results,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “We’re confident that the experts who are stepping up to serve in these working groups will develop innovative solutions to tackle our biggest health care challenges and improve quality of life across our state.”

“While the acute care hospitals in these regions are closed, we look forward to working with the community leaders, other health care providers and elected officials to ensure that the health care needs of the region are met,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh. “We are excited to reimagine a health care delivery system that is centered on patients and the health needs of their community.”

Nashoba Valley Region

This working group will develop a road map that aligns regional partners to meet the health care needs of the communities of Nashoba Valley impacted by the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center. It will be co-chaired by Joanne Marqusee, Assistant Secretary in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and Robert Pontbriand, Town Manager of Ayer.

“As we continue working to restore vital health care services in the Nashoba Valley, I’m grateful to Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll for their commitment to engaging directly with residents and local leaders still reeling from Steward’s negligence,” said Congresswoman Lori Trahan. “Together, we are committed to a future where residents in the Nashoba Valley have access to the high-quality care they need close to home.”

“The Administration’s plan is a very practical and empathetic approach to the devastating disruption to what should be a given in Massachusetts – access to quality health care in all communities,” said Middlesex District Attorney Ryan. “In our work with first responders every day, we see firsthand the immediate impact on the people we serve of longer transports, delayed responses and heightened stress in critical situations.  In some places, patients, including victims of violent crime, are now facing significant wait and travel time to care that may be the difference between life or death. I am grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for the opportunity to join these conversations with other stakeholders, to listen to those most affected and to restructure our health care system to best protect the safety and wellness of our communities.”

"It is an honor to partner with Governor Healey, Secretary Walsh, and other critical stakeholders to determine the path forward to improve and protect critical access to emergency and acute care services in the Nashoba Valley,” said Representative Margaret Scarsdale (D-Pepperell). “This closure comes as a major blow to this rural region, which in the last year has lost both the Leominster birthing center and the hospice care branch of Nashoba Associated Boards of Health. I have heard loud and clear from our first responders and local residents: Our community hospital is vital to this region, and I am eager to continue this work – alongside my colleagues on the Task Force – to determine the path forward for restored and improved healthcare access in Nashoba Valley.”   

“I am looking forward to engaging with the Governor’s Working Group for the Nashoba Valley Region to work collaboratively with federal, state, and most importantly local leaders from across the Nashoba Valley as we develop a proactive plan to improve and protect health care services for the region,” said Robert A. Pontbriand, Ayer Town Manager and Co-Chair of the Working Group for the Nashoba Valley. “Our plan must not only meet the health care needs of the Nashoba Valley but must improve the quality of health care for this unique region of the State, in terms of health care resources, access, equity, and overall improvements to health care for the people of the Nashoba Valley.?The foundation of our success will be working with the towns of the Nashoba Valley and our greatest resource - our residents - in an open, transparent, and collaborative manner as we develop a plan for an effective health care system for the Nashoba Valley.?This is a unique opportunity for us to turn the tragedy of what happened to the Nashoba Valley Medical Center into a success for not only the Nashoba Valley Region but for the Commonwealth.”

Dorchester Region

This working group will identify health and health equity impacts of the closure of Carney Hospital and issue recommendations to the Mayor and Governor for addressing these needs. It will be co-chaired by Bisola Ojikutu, MD, Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Boston, and Michael Curry, President and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.

“I thank Governor Healey and her Administration for partnering to seek ideas and input from community members most impacted by the closure of Carney Hospital and to engage health care leaders in our neighborhoods on identifying urgent solutions,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “This should be a process that strengthens access to care for Boston residents.”

“The closure of any healthcare resource has the potential to deepen inequities experienced by the surrounding community and beyond,” said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Boston. “As we plan for the future, the City of Boston looks forward to working with the state and other stakeholders to ensure that the former Carney hospital site remains a necessary resource for health and wellness for our city’s residents.”

“Steward's failure and subsequent bankruptcy is causing even further disruption to a historically strained health care system and threatens to exacerbate existing health inequities and access challenges for the communities served by these longstanding community hospitals,” said Michael Curry, President & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. “The Carney Hospital Task Force, and the one in Nashoba Valley, will convene to develop innovative solutions to this crisis and to explore options that reflect the health care needs of the community.”