After hospital closure, Healey assembles group to address Nashoba Valley health care

A woman with a white t-shirt stands in front of a group of hospital workers.

photo | EDD COTE Audra Sprague, an emergency room nurse at Nashoba Valley Medical Center, stands with a cohort of her coworkers and supporters outside of the hospital ahead of its planned Aug. 31 closure.

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By Mica Kanner-Mascolo

As the Nashoba Valley region continues to grapple with the August closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, the Gov. Maura Healey Administration has 32 officials to a working group assembled to address the healthcare needs of a region now left without a hospital.

The Nashoba Valley working group comprises hospital leaders, direct health care providers, fire chiefs, community leaders, and elected officials, according to a Tuesday press release by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services. The group is co-chaired by Joanne Marqusee, assistant secretary in the EOHHS and Ayer Town Manager Robert Pontbriand. The group held its first meeting Tuesday.

“The inaugural meeting of the Nashoba Valley Working Group was a productive first step in addressing the various impacts and challenges to healthcare in the Nashoba Valley, which the closure of the Nashoba Valley Medical Center has created,” Pontbriand said in the release.

The 60-year-old Nashoba Valley Medical Center closed its doors on Aug. 31 after its parent company, Texas-based Steward Health Care, filed for bankruptcy in May. The hospital had received approximately 16,000 emergency room visits and approximately 91,000 annual outpatient visits each year.

With the Nashoba Valley closure, the region’s 115,000 residents have been forced to travel to the area’s next-closest hospitals, namely UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital’s Leominster campus and Emerson Hospital in Concord, locations 11.5 miles and 16.8 miles away from the Ayer Fire Department, respectively, as opposed to the 2.4-miles-away Nashoba Valley Medical Center.

“In the wake of Steward’s closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center, this committed and diverse group of leaders has come together to understand the needs, address opportunities, and explore ideas to protect the health and well-being of those who live and work in this region,” Marqusee said in the release.

The Healey Administration originally announced the creation of the working group on Sept. 25 along with another for the Dorchester area in response to the Aug. 31 closure of the city's Steward-owned Carney Hospital. The Dorchester working group is co-chaired by Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, commissioner of public health for the City of Boston, and Michael Curry, president and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.

The Nashoba Valley working group members include:

Hospital leaders

Patricia Pistone, senior director of external affairs, UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital
Christine Schuster, president and CEO, Emerson Health
Colin McHugh, president and CEO, Southern New Hampshire Health
John Jurczyk, covenant senior vice president, president, St. Joseph Hospital
Amy Hoey, president, Lowell General Hospital

Other healthcare providers

Stephany Godfrey, chief of family medicine at Nashoba Valley Medical Center
Dr. Amjad Husain, chief medical officer, Nashoba Valley Medical Center
Dr. Paul Harasimowicz, chief of surgery, Nashoba Valley Medical Center
Francis Sauvageau, CEO, Taravista & Miravista Behavioral Health Centers
John DeMalia, president and CEO, Community Health Connections
Patti Onorato, deputy executive vice chancellor for operations, ForHealth Consulting at UMass Chan Medical School
Bill Reidt, regional vice president, Life Care Centers of America

Pre-hospital care (EMS/fire chiefs)

Timothy Johnston, fire chief, Town of Ayer
Art Cheeks, fire chief, Town of Groton
Robert Sideleau, fire chief, City of Leominster
Brian Borneman, chief of department, Pepperell Fire Department
Steele McCurdy, fire chief, Town of Littleton

Community leaders

Mark Haddad, town manager, Town of Groton
Jason Main, director of veterans services, Town of Leicester
Chelsey Patriss, executive director, Health Equity Partnership of North Central Massachusetts
Tamara Bedard, community health manager/local public health nurse, Nashoba Associated Boards of Health
Lori Richardson, chief executive officer, Aging Services of North Central Massachusetts

Elected officials

U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-Lowell)
Marian Ryan, district attorney of Middlesex County
State Sen. John Cronin, (D-Worcester and Middlesex counties)
State Sen. James Eldridge, (D-Middlesex and Worcester counties)
State Sen. Edward Kennedy, (D-Lowell)
State Rep. Margaret Scarsdale, (D-Ashby)
State Rep. Danillo Sena, (D-Acton)

Labor

Audra Sprague, co-chair of the Massachusetts Nurses Association labor union at Nashoba Valley Medical Center
Tim Foley, executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East labor union

Other state leaders

Dr. Gregg Meyer, head of incident command, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.