By Adam Bass
masslive.com
BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey announced Tuesday her administration is giving $5 million in grant funding to 13 towns in the Nashoba Valley supporting emergency medical services.
The funding bolsters EMS services following the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in August 2024. No one bought the hospital after its owner, the Dallas-based Steward Health Care, filed for bankruptcy in May 2024.
| MORE: Health care deserts: Rural communities grapple without EMS, hospitals or doctors
As a result of the hospital’s closure, EMS services were put under strain due to longer travel times to hospitals in Fitchburg and Lowell, Nashoba Valley fire chiefs previously told MassLive.
“We know that Nashoba Valley communities have been feeling the strain since Steward walked away from Nashoba Valley Medical Center,” said Healey in a press release. “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 13 communities receiving a base allocation of $100,000 are the Ayer, Boxborough, Devens, Groton, Leominster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley and Westford fire departments, the Ashby Fire/EMS, the Harvard Ambulance Service and the Townsend Fire-EMS Department, according to a press release from the administration.
The remaining $3.7 million will be distributed proportionally. The distribution will be determined by changes in EMS call volume and increases in EMS transport time to the nearest emergency department, according to the press release.
The funding comes from $10 million in 2025 supplemental budget funding for EMS services, signed into law by Healey.
“When Steward executives closed Nashoba Valley Medical Center, we made a commitment to patients, health care workers, and first responders that they would not be left behind or forgotten. This investment from the Healey-Driscoll Administration proves that more than a year later, we remain fully committed to keeping that promise,” said U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-3rd District. “By continuing to support first responders across the Nashoba Valley, we are ensuring communities have the emergency care they need while construction of UMass Memorial’s new, state-of-the-art satellite emergency facility moves forward in Groton.”
Following the closure of the Nashoba Valley Medical Center, UMass Memorial Health announced plans to build and operate a satellite emergency center in Groton.
The emergency center, which will provide emergency services, imaging, lab services, observation beds and emergency consultative services, is expected to be fully constructed by early 2027, according to UMass Memorial Health President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson.
A groundbreaking for the project was held on Sept. 22.
“Today, we recommit to healthcare in this region and across our state,” Healey said to the crowd of people at the event. “There’s nothing more precious than making sure we have access to care in the most vulnerable moments.”
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