Two Massachusetts hospitals have closed their doors, and many are angry

Two Massachusetts hospitals have closed their doors for good.

Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer have shut down. Steward Health Care had owned the facilities and is selling its hospitals nationwide after declaring bankruptcy. But Steward and state officials say no one has emerged to take over Carney and Nashoba Valley.

Both Carney and Nashoba Valley updated their websites early Saturday morning with a message to say that they are permanently closed and no longer accepting patients.

Late Friday, Steward announced it had reached a deal with its landlord, Medical Properties Trust, to help move the hospitals to new ownership. Steward said the deal would allow most hospitals to remain open.

Earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced plans to preserve five former Steward hospitals in Massachusetts, lining up new ownership for those facilities. But state officials say there’s no operator willing to take over the two hospitals and they are poised to close.

Residents and healthcare workers are saddened by the prospect of losing the two hospitals, and some are seething. Massachusetts State Sen. Jamie Eldridge tells Chief Healthcare Executive® that the communities are still hoping for a long-shot remedy to save the facilities.

“I would say there’s massive frustration and disgust from many of my constituents,” says Eldridge, whose district includes Nashoba Valley.

Residents joined nurses, elected officials and others at a rally outside the Massachusetts State House Wednesday urging the state to preserve the two hospitals. Hundreds gathered outside Nashoba Valley in a demonstration to save the hospital earlier this week, Eldridge says.

A Steward spokesperson told WGBH Public Radio that an ambulance will remain at each facility for one week in case someone shows up at the hospitals in need of emergency care.

The closure of the two hospitals means less access to essential health care, Eldridge says. He says the nearest surrounding hospitals in the Nashoba Valley are about 30 minutes away from the residents in those communities.

“A lot of the municipalities, especially in Nashoba Valley, you have a lot of rural communities that have limited fire and EMS,” he says. “The cost is going to shift on municipalities.”

The longer distances to nearby hospitals are going to be especially troublesome for patients suffering heart attacks and other emergencies, he says.

“It's really going to leave a massive hole of healthcare access for Nashoba Valley residents,” Eldridge says. “People are going to die.”

• Read more: Two Ohio hospitals are facing closure

Sharing the frustration

Carney Hospital has served the Boston area for more than 160 years, opening in 1863. The hospital had 91 staffed beds in 2022, according to Massachusetts records. Nashoba Valley was founded in 1964 and had 38 staffed beds in 2022, according to state data.

The Healey administration says it is taking steps to ensure residents have the care they need. Healey and Massachusetts lawmakers have long hammered Steward over its management of the facilities and pushed the for-profit system to transfer ownership of the hospitals months ago.

The Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services outlined steps to maintain healthcare services to Chief Healthcare Executive®.

“The Healey-Driscoll administration shares the frustration of communities and staff regarding Steward's planned closures of Carney and Nashoba Valley Hospitals,” a health department spokesperson wrote in an email. “We have been working with other hospitals and health centers in these regions to preserve access to essential medical services, help patients transition their care and connect staff with new employment opportunities.”

State officials say they have been meeting with other area hospitals to help them prepare for the increased number of patients they will see following the closure of the facilities.

The health department says it’s also been talking with fire chiefs in the region to ensure emergency care and transport services are available.

State officials have also been working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans’ Services to help veterans who relied on the two hospitals for care.

Steve Walsh, president & CEO of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, says the organization is working daily with the state to ensure patients will get care from other providers.

“Our hospitals, just like local patients and communities, have spent many months preparing for the fallout of the Steward crisis,” Walsh said in a statement sent to Chief Healthcare Executive®.

“This transition has already begun with patients seeking care at nearby facilities,” Walsh added. “We are also focused on giving those hospitals’ workers new opportunities, as their talent and compassion are needed more than ever. Although these closures are unsettling, our members are ready to welcome any patient that comes through their doors.”

Seeking ‘stronger action’

While state officials say they have prepared for the closure of the two hospitals, residents are frustrated that state officials found a way to save five other hospitals, but won’t rescue Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley, Eldridge says.

The Healey administration is taking over one former Steward hospital, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston, via eminent domain. Eventually, the Lifespan health system is slated to take over St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center.

Eldridge says residents expressed their anger at the gathering at Nashoba Valley this week. He says it’s compounded because many of the residents in the rural communities feel like they’re being ignored. He praised the Healey administration for saving the other hospitals, but he says he wants to see similarly bold action to preserve Carney and Nashoba Valley.

As Eldridge says, “I think that the frustration is, you know, why hasn't there been stronger action?”

Eldridge also says that he thinks the state has sufficient money to sustain the facilities until a new operator can be found. He pointed to the state’s strong tax revenues and the recent announcement of a $600 million tobacco settlement.

“​​I do believe the administration has that money and has the flexibility to provide money, even to keep these hospitals open after this weekend,” Eldridge says. “But I do understand that there needs to be a clear indication of a hospital operator willing to either operate the hospitals or to buy them.”

The Massachusetts Nurses Association has praised the Healey administration for moving to preserve other former Steward facilities, but continued to press state officials to save Carney and Nashoba Valley. More than 380 registered nurses work at the two hospitals.

The association says it continues to “stand with our colleagues at Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center, and especially those communities they serve, and we continue to call on the Governor and the state to take action to save those hospitals.”

Suzanne Koenig, a court-appointed ombudsman, issued a report about the pending closure of Nashoba Valley and its “devastating” impact on other emergency departments and local emergency services.

In the report, Koenig wrote, “In addition to limiting the availability of EMS personnel, the EDs in other communities are not staffed or equipped to absorb the former Nashoba patients. This toxic combination of delayed EMS response times and overtaxed EDs will lead to dire results for patients needing emergency care.”

While Koenig added that officials hope to reopen Nashoba Valley in the coming months, she said even a temporary closure would hurt the most vulnerable.

The hospitals will remain licensed for months, and Eldridge says there may be some operators willing to submit bids for the facilities after the hospitals shut down. And he says he sees a willingness from the Healey administration to provide funding.

“It is possible to reopen both hospitals after Saturday,” Eldridge says. “So I think that's where we're focusing our energies now.”

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center have closed as of Sat., Aug. 31. It also notes Steward Health Care says it has an agreement to save most of the system's hospitals.