Page 3 - Eric Dickson News Today

North Central Mass. Legislators are hoping to tap the power held by the Board of Trustees at UMass Memorial Medical Health, urging them to intervene in the maternity ward closure.

Those opposing the birthing center closure had only harsh words for the long-awaited response from UMass Memorial Health after the state announced that the maternity ward, set to close in September, was an "essential service."

The CEO of Mass General Brigham topped the scale, earning $5.38 million in 2021.

UMass Memorial Health plans to close the unit next month.

Eleven maternity units have closed in the state since 2010, a trend advocates say will create perilous gaps in care for pregnant individuals.

Staff shortages and falling birth rates were cited by UMass Health as the driving forces behind the move.

Member leaders for the association and its research and education arm, Essential Hospitals Institute, begin their new roles July 1.

The closure of the detox program, and two others, led to 80 layoffs earlier this spring.

LEOMINSTER — With the closure of the maternity ward at Leominster Hospital looming, public pressure is mounting. 

Heywood Healthcare in Gardner is replacing the CEO who has led the hospital system for 12 years, citing the changing healthcare landscape and the need to continue meeting its community's goals.