UMass Memorial Health could convert the emergency room at the shuttered Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer into an urgent care facility, according to the Healey administration.
The Steward-owned facility was one of two that closed its doors permanently on Saturday, even as the bankrupt, Dallas-based health care provider reaches, or closes in, on sales deals for its other Bay State facilities.
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“UMass Memorial Health is considering alternative possibilities, such as converting the hospital’s emergency room into an urgent care facility,” the Healey administration said in a statement released Friday.
“While these discussions are in the early stages, there will be continued collaboration with UMass to attempt to provide an alternative healthcare option for residents,” the administration said.
Carney Hospital, also owned by Steward, closed on Saturday. Together, the two closings will put some 1,200 people out of work.
There currently are no similar plans for Carney Hospital.
Healey’s office said the state’s “Executive Office of Health and Human Services is engaged in ongoing discussions with UMass Memorial Health and other providers in the region with the goal of reimagining future care on the Nashoba Valley Medical Center campus.”
On Friday, Steward announced that it had signed purchase agreements for Boston Medical Center to buy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, State House News Service reported.
The filing of the agreement for the two hospitals comes a day after the bankrupt company filed agreements to sell four other facilities in Massachusetts, the wire service reported.
The entire suite of deals — the two hospitals going to BMC; St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River and Morton Hospital in Taunton being sold to Lifespan; and the Holy Family Hospital facilities in Methuen and Haverhill being sold to Lawrence General Hospital — are expected to be presented for U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval Wednesday.
“We’ve heard the concerns raised by the communities and staff impacted by Steward’s plans to close Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center. We share their frustration – Massachusetts communities should never have been put in this position,” Healey said.
“Our teams have been preparing for this, and we will ensure that residents continue to have access to high-quality medical care and that all staff is connected to new employment opportunities at other facilities,” she continued.
On Saturday, state Rep. Margaret Scarsdale, D-1st Middlesex, whose district includes the hospital, said there are “multiple qualified parties in conversation with the state about restarting medical services at the [Nashoba Valley].”
Saturday was “not the end of our fight to save Nashoba Valley Medical Center,” Scarsdale continued. “While our community hospital is slated to close, we have I encourage any operator that is interested to submit a bid or reach out to my office.
Policymakers “recognize the need for essential health care in this region, and we are working as expeditiously as possible to support a new operator and reopen Nashoba Valley Medical Center,” Scarsdale continued, adding that “this work will remain ongoing beyond” Saturday.
A hospital closing “is a devastating blow to a community, and in this case, the speed at which the process unfolded has added a further layer of disruption for so many residents,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh said.
“As Steward runs away from its obligations in these communities, we are running toward them to do what is needed to maintain access to essential medical care for patients and support the dedicated employees who have been delivering extraordinary care during this difficult time,” Walsh continued. “We stand with these communities as we all move through this transition.”
