Leominster birthing center closing tomorrow

The birthing center at UMass Memorial Hospital in Leominster, Massachusetts, is slated to close at 7 a.m. on Saturday, despite major pushback from local leaders and community activists, including a legal challenge from the city.

It appears vigils, protests and public pressure were not enough to keep the facility open. Staff at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester are bracing for an influx of labor and delivery patients.

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"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.

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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.

"This is a very important issue around here," said Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella. "It has galvanized so much support for us, the entire region, not just Leominster."

The city has now sued the hospital system in a last-ditch effort.

Hospital administrators plan to offer around-the-clock, curb-to-curb rides for non-emergency labor and delivery transportation to other hospitals, and insist Leominster’s emergency department is trained to handle obstetric emergencies.

"This is the one decision they've made that has everyone scratching their head, saying just don't get this," said Mazzarella. "There's plenty of babies being born here in the area."

But even a lawsuit hasn't moved the needle.

Hospital administrators argue there's not enough staff and too few patients to keep labor and delivery open on the Leominster campus.

"We will not be able to safely staff the unit after September 23," the hospital said in a statement. "We believe the most clinically appropriate course of action is to close the unit and keep it closed."

"Honestly, I'm worried about something really bad happening," said LaBuff. "Babies dying."

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."

Hospital administration has said the decision to close the maternity ward stems from workforce shortages and declining delivery volume.

At a vigil Thursday night, dozens of people held candles as they clung to a glimmer of hope that the hospital could stay open.

But 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 is 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,” Governor Healey said.