By Adam Bass
masslive.com
AYER, Mass. 鈥� UMass Memorial Health announced Wednesday it intends to construct an emergency department in the Nashoba Valley region of the state.
Emergency departments handle the most severe medical issues, according to UMass Memorial Health鈥檚 . Those who use emergency departments are patients who have medical conditions that appear life-threatening or require immediate treatment or a higher level of service, the website reads.
The health system鈥檚 decision to build an emergency department comes nearly five months after the Nashoba Valley Medical Center (NVMC) in Ayer due to a lack of buyers. The Dallas-based Steward Health Care owned the medical center, which filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 .
鈥淲e understand the challenges that the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center has caused for the region and we have been listening closely to the concerns of impacted patients and the legislators that represent them,鈥� a statement from UMass Memorial Health reads. 鈥淎s a result, we have made the decision to step in to support the community by building a new standalone Emergency Department in the Nashoba Valley region that also offers certain imaging services.鈥�
The statement does not provide a location for the proposed department or set a start date for construction. The health system鈥檚 media and public relations director, Shelly Hazlett, told MassLive that no further details could be provided.
鈥淲hile there is significant work to be done before this plan becomes a reality, we remain committed to supporting and protecting the health care needs of residents throughout Central Massachusetts,鈥� the statement reads.
The Nashoba Valley region is an area of North Central Massachusetts with communities including Ayer, Stow and Lancaster.
In December 2024, 13 fire chiefs from the region wrote a letter to Gov. Maura Healey asking that $9.6 million in a supplemental budget be allocated to help operate the region鈥檚 emergency medical response system following the closure of NVMC. The fire chiefs write that the closure of NVMC has resulted in a crisis.
鈥淚n addition to 150,000 people of our region losing health care services from the NVMC, the closure of the NVMC has created a crisis situation for Emergency Medical Services on multiple fronts due to the increased distances and times for ambulances and first responders to travel outside of the Nashoba Valley to Leominster, Concord, Lowell, or Nashua, New Hampshire,鈥� the letter reads.
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