Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 3, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 19 INSIGHTS: Economy When a hospital closes Central Mass. emergency rooms visits have risen since Nashoba Valley shuttered, a situation expected to worsen as hospital finances are increasingly strained BY MICA KANNER-MASCOLO WBJ Staff Writer W hen Nashoba Valley Medical Center closed its doors at the end of August 2024, its fellow regional hospitals were le to somehow absorb the Ayer facility's approximately 16,000 annual emergency room visits and about 91,000 annual outpatient visits. "e UMass Memorial Health system started feeling the effects of the Nashoba closure, really immediately," said Justin Precourt, president of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. UMass Memorial expects to alleviate some of the pain when its parent orga- nization opens a standalone emergency room in Nashoba Valley in 2027. Yet, the volume in Central Massachu- setts ERs is still expected to grow, exac- erbated by a primary care shortage and incoming $1 trillion in cuts nationally to Medicaid. "ere is a big crisis with access to primary care, and with potential Medic- aid cuts, patients will be even [less] likely to get preventative care. And that will exacerbate the challenges that emergen- cy rooms have," said Rozanna Penney, president and CEO of Gardner-based Heywood Healthcare. Strained systems e UMass memorial system had begun to experience an uptick in its emergency department volume about 30 days before the 77-bed Nashoba Valley Medical Center's closure. e emergency departments of UMass Me- morial HealthAl- liance-Clinton Hospital's Clinton and Leominster campuses have seen a close to 10% increase since the Ayer hospital's closure. Even still, Precourt said the greatest burden has fallen on the region's municipal emergency response systems. What was once a five-minute, one-way transport to take a patient to NVMC has now increased to 25 minutes to neighboring hospitals, said Arthur Cheeks, the fire chief for the Town of Groton. at, combined with an increased demand on the town's limited emergency re- sponse staff, leaves local residents vulnerable when every minute counts. "Especially in the evening hours, we are essentially out of service for over an hour," said Cheeks. "It leaves the town virtually unprotected." Since NVMC's closure, HealthAlli- ance-Clinton Hospital's emergency de- partment has seen about 15 to 21 more patients each day, forcing the facility to open up to 25 additional beds and hiring additional staff to meet demand. Behind the ED, the hospital's psychi- atric services have experienced the sec- ond-greatest rise in demand, especially as HealthAlliance-Clinton accommo- dates those who would have sought care at NVMC's geriatric psychiatric unit. Rozanna Penney, president and CEO of Heywood Healthcare Arthur Cheeks, fire chief for the Town of Groton Continued on next page PHOTO | ALLAN DINES Justin Precourt, president of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said the UMass Me- morial Health system began seeing more patients in its emergency departments before Nashoba Valley Medical Center even closed.

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