Steward Health: Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer to close

The bankrupt Steward Health Care said Friday that it is closing two of its hospitals here in the next month or so — Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer — that received no qualified bids in its sales process.

"Over the past several months, Steward Health Care has been actively working to sell or transition all its Massachusetts hospitals and we are in active final negotiations to sell six of them. Despite the extensive sale process, which involved close coordination with lenders and regulators, there were no qualified bids for two hospitals, Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center, and, unfortunately, they will be closing on or around August 31, 2024," the company said Friday morning. "This is a challenging and unfortunate situation, and the effect it will have on our patients, our employees, and the communities we serve is regrettable. We will do all we can to ensure a smooth transition for those affected while continuing to provide quality care to the patients we will continue to serve."

Gov. Maura Healey, who said her goal was to protect jobs and access to care at all of Steward's eight hospital facilities in Massachusetts, said Friday morning: "This is not over."

"It’s regrettable that Ralph de la Torre and Steward’s greed and mismanagement are resulting in the closures of Carney and Nashoba Valley hospitals. These hospitals have long served their communities — their closures are about more than the loss of beds, doctors, and nurses. We want to assure the people of Massachusetts that we have prepared diligently for this moment and will take all available steps to help facilitate a smooth transition for impacted patients and employees," the governor said, referring to the company's CEO.

In June, an average of 13 of the Carney's 83 medical beds were filled and an average of 11 of Nashoba Valley's 46 beds were filled, the governor's office said.

State law and regulations require any provider planning to close an essential service to notify the Department of Public Health at least 120 days in advance and then provide a formal notice 90 days before the planned closure. It was unclear Friday morning how Steward's announcement that the Dorchester and Ayer hospitals would close around the end of August comports with the state's requirements.

Healey's office said Friday that Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center "will proceed through an orderly and regulated closure," with the next step being the bankruptcy judge considering approval of Steward’s motion to close. Steward is required to send a notice of closure to DPH, which "will then facilitate a transition for impacted patients and employees," the governor's office said.

There is a litany of checkpoints along the way. DPH must publish a notice of a public hearing on the closure at least 81 days out and hold the hearing at least 60 days before the closure would take effect.

Within 15 days of that public hearing, DPH is to provide the hospital with a determination as to whether the service provided by the hospital is necessary for preserving access and health status within the hospital’s service area. If DPH deems the service necessary, the hospital is required to submit a plan to DPH for assuring access within 15 days, and the two sides can go back and forth a bit until there are 10 days remaining until the closure, according to the Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification at DPH.

However, even if regulators find the service is crucial to maintaining care, they cannot legally require a hospital to keep a service open to the public. DPH can only call for a provider to submit a plan outlining what patients will do after a closure and conduct postclosure monitoring, not block any service from shutting down.

The company said Friday that it will "work closely with our Carney and Nashoba patients to help them find the best possible care alternative and with our valued employees and health care professionals to assist with this very difficult transition."

Steward also said that it had already "notified and are closely coordinating with the appropriate state and federal agencies on the closure process."

Filaine Deronnette, vice president at-large of the 1199SEIU union that represents about 80,000 health care workers in the Bay State, reacted to Friday's announcement and said "the future of care in Massachusetts is at risk."

"Steward Health Care’s decision to close Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center is devastating, which will create hospital deserts and exacerbate health inequities in the communities they serve. Patients across Massachusetts will now ultimately pay the price of Steward’s mismanagement if care is pushed miles away and ER capacities reach crisis level," Deronnette said.

Acknowledging the ripple effects Steward's closures could have on the health care landscape, Healey also announced Friday a new online dashboard that will allow people in need of care to find nearby hospitals, understand the services available at each location, and view monthly updates on patient volumes and bed availability. The closure of two hospitals will come at a time of significant strain for health care facilities of all shapes and sizes, and as hospitals all over the state struggle to keep up with the demand.

"The loss of these hospitals will not only impact these patients and communities, but will also compromise the care for patients served by other hospitals in the region, hospitals that are already overwhelmed and will now be forced to absorb those patients abandoned as a result of these closures," the Mass. Nurses Association said in a statement Friday.

The union said its nurses and other health professionals "have held the line throughout this crisis" and call on the state and federal governments to keep the hospitals running "because no community is expendable and closure is not an viable or acceptable option."

"In the interim, we call on the state to enforce its law forbidding hospital closures with less than 120 days’ notice to allow the state time to find a means of preserving these hospitals for the care of these vulnerable communities," the MNA said.

Steward was taking bids on its seven hospitals (eight campuses) operating in Massachusetts: Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Morton Hospital in Taunton, St. Anne's Hospital in Fall River, St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Holy Family Hospital with campuses in Methuen and Haverhill, and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer. Norwood Hospital, which was closed for renovations, was not included in the sale process.

Healey added, "For the remaining hospitals, we know that Steward received several bids to not only maintain but improve five of their hospitals in three key regions. It is time for Steward and their real estate partners to finally put the communities they serve over their own selfish greed. They need to finalize these deals that are in their best interest and the best interest of patients and workers."

A sales hearing is scheduled for the hospitals in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on July 31.

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, who represents Ayer, said Friday that she "will be requesting that federal enforcers, including the Department of Justice, immediately investigate Steward’s actions."

"Steward executives should be ashamed of what they’ve done to patients and providers here in Massachusetts and across our country. Their predatory private equity business model focused on extracting every last penny of profits while ignoring their obligations to their hardworking staff and the families they serve. Now, patients in Ayer and across the Nashoba Valley are being forced to pay the price for Steward’s gross negligence," she said. "Ralph de la Torre and his coconspirators must be held accountable for causing this crisis."

Sen. Nick Collins, whose district includes Carney, told the News Service that the state "should not allow an for expedited closure of Carney Hospital."

"That would play into the hands of MPT and their strategy to sell the assets at an inflated value and fly away with a windfall. We need to do everything we can to keep Carney Hospital open so that a qualified bidder can come in after bringing the inflated value down to earth," Collins said.

Sen. Jamie Eldridge, whose district includes Nashoba Valley Medical Center, called the facility a "treasured community hospital."

"I'm heartbroken to hear from town of Ayer that @Steward will be closing Nashoba Valley Medical Center," Eldridge said on X Friday morning. "I'm asking @MassGovernor @MassAGO to continue to work to stop any hospital from closing, create transition plan & enforce the 120-day closure law."

Alison Kuznitz contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Steward Health: Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer to close