AYER — Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer will soon close its doors, Steward Health Care announced on Friday. This closure is part of the ongoing financial crisis faced by the bankrupt company. Steward also announced the closure of Carney Hospital in Dorchester, with both facilities set to close next month.
Despite extensive efforts to find new operators for its facilities, Steward Health Care reported that no qualified bidders stepped forward for Nashoba Valley Medical Center after the company filed for bankruptcy on May 6.
“Over the past several months, Steward Health Care has been actively working to sell or transition all its Massachusetts hospitals and we are in active final negotiations to sell six of them,” the company said in a statement. “Despite the extensive sale process, which involved close coordination with lenders and regulators, there were no qualified bids for two hospitals, Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center, and, unfortunately, they will be closing.”
Founded in 1964, Nashoba Valley Medical Center serves 16 communities in North Central Massachusetts and offers a range of medical services, including emergency care, cardiology, gastroenterology, and oncology. The hospital has experienced a 35 percent decline in patients since the beginning of the year, attributed to the public revelation of Steward’s financial troubles and subsequent service cuts.
In a statement issued from her office on Friday, Governor Maura Healey attributed the closures to Steward Health Care’s “greed and mismanagement” and assured the impacted patients and employees that efforts will be made to ensure a smooth transition to new employment and treatment options.
“These hospitals have long served their communities — their closures are about more than the loss of beds, doctors, and nurses,” Healey said. “We want to assure the people of Massachusetts that we have prepared diligently for this moment and will take all available steps to help facilitate a smooth transition for impacted patients and employees.”
US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez is scheduled to review successful bids for other Steward hospitals at a hearing in Houston on July 31.
