The birthing center at UMass Memorial Hospital in Leominster, Massachusetts, is set to close at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, despite major pushback from local leaders and community activists, including a legal challenge from the city.
The city filed a lawsuit against the hospital system Friday night, hoping to keep the Leominster Birthing Unit open.
"Our lawsuit asks the court to force the Department of Public Health to do what it's required to do and that's write an actual decision. That's what the requirements are and they never did. They issued like a two-sentence decision basically saying we'll be watching," Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella said.
The attorneys for the city said they're seeking a temporary restraining order to keep the hospital from closing the unit until the state's Department of Public Health formally concludes its administrative proceeding and issues a formal written decision.
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This all comes despite months of protests and vigils as the community rallied to show their support for the center.
"We said right from the beginning, if anybody thinks they're taking the fall off, or this will just quietly go away, and the holidays will come and winter will come and everyone will lose focus, absolutely incorrect. This is the beginning of stage two of our pursuit to keep maternity healthcare here in north Worcester County," the mayor said.
UMass Memorial issued a statement on Friday saying, "While we do not comment on pending litigation, we will not be able to safely staff the unit after September 23. Based on this, we believe the most clinically appropriate course of action is to close the unit and keep it closed."
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The hospital previously said that the decision stemmed from workplace shortages and declining delivery volume, adding that the hospital would offer around-the-clock curb-to-curb transportation for those who need it for urgent non-emergency maternity services at other locations.
As of now, the hospital's unit is scheduled to close at 11:59 p.m. Saturday unless there's a ruling from a judge that could potentially change that, but we had not heard of anything late Saturday night and it appears vigils, protests and public pressure were not enough.
Staff at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester said they were bracing for an influx of labor and delivery patients.
"Closing Leominster is not only going to be a danger to the Leominster community, but it's going to be a danger to all of Central Mass., all of the Worcester area, because we cannot handle more deliveries," said Barbara LaBuff, a maternity nurse at the Worcester hospital.
She says the staff is already overwhelmed and the hospital is not ready for more patients.
"Honestly, I'm worried about something really bad happening," said LaBuff. "Babies dying."
Nurses, patients and local public officials have urged UMass Memorial to keep the Leominster maternity ward open, arguing the area is already under-served as it is.
A group of nurses and supporters gathered at the hospital for a candlelight vigil Thursday to urge Gov. Maura Healey to step in at the 11th hour and stop the closure.
On Friday, the governor announced she was ordering an immediate examination to address health care equity in the state. It will come as two reviews -- one on access to specialized services like doula care and supports for nutrition, mental health and substance use issues, and another focused on regional access to essential services in northern Worcester County.
The reviews are scheduled to be complete by Nov. 15, however, and will not delay the closure.
"Our administration is deeply concerned about the Leominster closure and health care access generally across northern Worcester County. We are committed to ensuring that all Massachusetts residents have access to high-quality health care, including safe and equitable maternal care," Healey wrote in a statement.
The City of Leominster has filed paperwork requesting a temporary restraining order to prevent the closure. In the lawsuit, the city names the hospital, UMass Memorial Health Care and the Department of Public Health. It claims that the health care group never presented a fully realized plan for transporting patients in need of birthing care, and ignored guidance from DPH on community engagement surrounding the changes to services. The suit also claims that DPH did not meet its responsibility in the process, stating "the Department of Public Health has purported to conclude the proceeding with a secretive four-sentence email to counsel for the Hospital."
As of Friday afternoon no decision had been made on whether the challenge would be allowed to move forward. UMass Memorial released the following statement:
"After fully adhering to the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) regulatory review process, the providers, nurses and leadership teams at HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital are preparing to transition the maternity unit’s inpatient services to UMass Memorial Medical Center and to close the unit. While we do not comment on pending litigation, we will not be able to safely staff the unit after September 23. Based on this, we believe the most clinically appropriate course of action is to close the unit and keep it closed."
Supporters of keeping the birthing unit open say this decision is putting an already underserved population more at risk.
“We have patients all the time that will come in and deliver within minutes of being on the floor," labor and delivery nurse Amy Gagnon said. "The emergency room is not ready for Sunday morning to be doing deliveries in the emergency room.”
Hospital administration said in a statement that keeping the birthing center open simply isn't the right choice.
“Keeping a birthing center open without adequate obstetrical coverage is not in the best interest of our patients and is something we are not willing to do, regardless of the political pressure and damaging headlines," the statement said.
The Department of Public Health had already urged UMass Memorial Health to delay the closure, but the hospital network was not budging.
Here’s what the governor had to say about whether she will intervene:
“It’s something that we’re currently evaluating, assessing right now. I’m very concerned about ensuring that people in that region and all over Massachusetts have access to the health care that they need, especially when it comes to maternal health,” Gov. Healey said.
CORRECTION (Saturday, Sept. 23, 8:50 a.m.): An earlier version of this story had the wrong time for the Leominster Birthing Unit's closure. It closes at midnight.
