As the Nashoba Valley continues to reel from the 2024 closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, the Gov. Maura Healey Administration is dedicating $5 million to reimburse the region’s overburdened emergency medical services.
“We know that Nashoba Valley communities have been feeling the strain since Steward walked away from Nashoba Valley Medical Center,” Healey said in a Tuesday press release from her office. “We know there is still more work to be done, and we are committed to continuing to support emergency medical service providers and protect access to health care for everyone.”
The grants will be apportioned to 13 Nashoba Valley EMS providers, each receiving an initial $100,000 investment and eventually totalling $3.7 million. The remaining funds will be later distributed depending on EMS call volume changes and increases to transportation times to neighboring emergency departments, according to the release.
Nashoba Valley EMS providers receiving funding include the Ayer, Littleton, Groton, and Pepperell fire departments. These towns, as well as Devens, Harvard, Shirley, and Townsend, received a combined $2 million earlier this year to purchase new ambulances and EMS equipment.
This most recent round of funding will reimburse the 13 municipalities for the EMS for exacerbated expenses through June 30, 2027.
“When Nashoba Valley Medical Center closed its doors in August 2024, this region was plunged into an immediate health care crisis,” Rep. Margaret Scarsdale (D-Pepperell) said in the release. “Today’s news is a relief for our EMS providers, who have met every challenge with unflagging commitment and often with great sacrifice.”
NVMC’s closure has meant the hospital’s 16,000 annual emergency room visits have had to divert to neighboring facilities.
Ayer’s EMS transportation times drastically increased as they’ve had to transport patients up to 19.7 miles away from its fire department. In Groton, the once five-minute, one-way transport to NVMC has increased to 25 minutes to neighboring hospitals.
“Especially in the evening hours, we are essentially out of service for over an hour,” Arthur Cheeks, the fire chief for the Town of Groton, previously told WBJ. “It leaves the town virtually unprotected.”
The 13 Nashoba Valley EMS systems splitting the $5 million in state funding are:
- Ashby Fire and EMS
- Ayer Fire Department
- Boxborough Fire Department
- Devens Fire Department
- Groton Fire Department
- Harvard Ambulance Service
- Leominster Fire Department
- Littleton Fire Department
- Fire Department for the Town of Lunenburg
- Pepperell Fire Department
- Townsend Fire-EMS Department
- Shirley Fire Department
- Westford Fire Department
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
