##VIDEO ID:4lrtQiUhDSo## good evening I'd like to welcome you to the town of air select meeting of the air select special meeting of the air select board for Tuesday August 6 202024 this meeting hearing of the air select board will be held in person at the location provided on this notice members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting please note that while an option for remote attendance and or participation via Zoom is being provided as a courtesy to the public the meeting SL hearing will not be suspended or determinated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast unless otherwise required by law members of the public with particular interest in a specific item on this agenda to make plans for in-person vers virtual attendance accordingly this meeting will be live on Zoom the public May access the proceedings by joining Zoom meeting ID number 897 9080 0793 or by calling 92925 6 099 for additional information about remote participation please contact Carly antonellis the assistant Town manager at ATM a.m. us or 978-772-4864 to of the United States of America the stands one nation under God indivisible liy and justice for all the first item up tonight is going to be hearing from the State Legislative delegation for an update on the proposed closing of noova Valley Medical [Music] Center thank you Mr chairman uh I want to thank the air select board and town manager Robert pontan and assistant Town manager Carly antonellis uh for allowing us to say a few words uh with this emergency meeting by the air select board uh to address the the crisis of the potential closure of the yova Valley Medical Center uh state senator Jamie Eldridge very proud to represent a for 16 years in the Shela Valley area for 22 years and just to think that just just a week ago in in the morning on um uh Late July uh we had an incredible rally here of I think about 300 people of newa Valley Medical Center professional staff patients residents uh Town officials Public Safety leaders uh Community leaders Business Leaders uh to speak out against the uh potential closure of the noova Valley Medical Center by the financial mismanagement of steuart healthcare so I want to thank everyone for being so responsive with a particular uh gratitude on the select board um of course all the select board have have reached out but I know in particular uh Janice Livingston it reached out to myself a representative Cena a few weeks ago and uh we have a very close working relationship with Robert Pont brand and Carly antonellis as well as the the professional staff at noova Valley Medical Center and especially the the Union uh Mass Nurses Association so in terms of the the update um I I do just want to uh provide the latest um letter I'm just going to pass this to to all the select board members of of the letter that has been signed by more and more elected officials both legislators and uh Municipal officials including in Boston given the potential closure of the the Carney Hospital in Dorchester so this is the latest letter that we have sent to Governor Healey lieutenant governor Driscoll secretary Walsh the HHS secretary uh and dph commissioner Goldstein and we first just you know the message I just want to say before highlighting the letter is that I want to send a message to to my constituents in the dooba Valley region and all the communities that are served by the hospital that we are at the at the legislative level as as legislators for for this area and and legislators in the Boston area we are we are not giving up we're continuing continuing to fight back and I I I hope that people realize that as as uh concerning as the situation is and as as dire as it is and to to be frank it is dire that we are seeing a movement by the administration so hopefully people have seen and this was largely due to the work of of many of the people in this room is that you know Governor Healey now has been clear uh that there needs to be 120 days before any Hospital facility closes um I know that there was a meeting with nurses and Governor Healey last week in lemster where there was a productive conversation about providing State funding if there is a qualified bidder uh for the nooba Valley Medical Center and while I don't have all the details about potential biders there certainly have been more and more stories about potential biders uh for the for the hospital so we're continuing to advocate for that and and clearly it's critical to have you know State funding uh to make that possible whether it's Bridge funding or whether it's uh support uh for for the hospitals um and the potential new owners in terms of what what we have asked the administration for uh is that just list the items here is that this is in the letter which which is uh noted on my website Senator Eldridge decom under official correspondence but it would be to reach out this is asking the administration to reach out to any prospective Hospital bidder including Massachusetts Healthcare networks to purchase both hospitals uh second to declare a public health state of emergency to broaden Government powers to keep the two hospitals open uh to provide Bridge funding to keep nishoba Valley Medical Center and Carney Hospital in operation uh while negotiations for potential buyers of hospitals and uh really to get a stronger commitment from the helal Driscoll Administration I I really want to lift up the fact that you know the legislature and the governor have just passed and signed a fiscal year budget we just passed a supplemental budget so there there are funds out there that you know I believe are are are possible to help the NOA Valley region and so we're going to continue to to advocate for that and uh someone who has also uh really just been an incredible leader for this area is uh our colleague representative Margaret Scarsdale uh from from Peril uh but represents many of the communities including uh gr and peil is that uh she has reached out I know represent have seen it and I have begun to do it as well is reach out to all of our public uh safety leaders so you know for the most part our Fire Chiefs um to make sure it's very clear to DP commissioner Dr Robert Goldstein that um it would be an absolutely devastating impact for uh EMS and and fire departments uh for the safety of of tens of thousands of residents in the nooba valley region if the nooba Valley Medical Center were were to close talking about obviously the the extra time it would take for to for to bring a an an ambulance or other emergency vehicle to another hospital that could be 20 25 or 30 minutes away um that the very close partnership that Nela Valley Medical Center has with the with the fire service and EMS in these communities uh would would obviously would obviously be gone and communicating to Public Health commissioner Goldstein that you know his mission obviously is to ensure proper Health Care access for every region of Massachusetts and that would have an extremely detrimental effect if if the hospital would would close so um I would uh I would close and say to the to to Chairman copelan is is thank you so much to the select board for for reaching out to us um again this is uh just the latest in correspondence we're doing it's it's obviously a sort of quickly evolving discussion around both hospitals but I do think that we've gotten the governor's attention clearly gotten the media's attention and and so grateful for the Grassroots work the work of of the nurses doctors uh the mass Nurses Association uh and and residents here in general uh for all their terrific work and and really again really want to Echo my appreciation to Robert Pon to Carley antelis and the select board for taking such quick action and and I'm hopeful for for quick action tonight so thank you so [Applause] much um well good evening everyone thank you um for to allowing the house to say a few words here tonight I I Echo what Senator Eldridge has said I mean we we have worked with uh uh together to send a letter to the governor's office to the Department of Human Services and and also we my office had a letter to the attorney general um requesting to use every tools that you can to delay this closure now certainly I've heard from many many constituents and many residents that they lived in a or they want to live around this area because of the hospital because of the quality of life um are given to the residents and and certainly I have relied on the shra myself for healthcare uh so certainly it's going to impact all of us and what can we do I mean my goal or my hope for the future on this um uh closure if it does indeed happens and it looks like at least there's nothing changing and I would like to see those bids more transparency would like to see more uh information so that we the public is aware who who's a potential buyer um during this crisis IED a call from a doctor who they said then the best care the best method for us to provide care without this to avoid some of these corruption that are kind of happening this mismanagement if I may say with those funds or profits um is for a nonprofit um to to to Governor or to uh take over a new facility and and so my goal is that we have a transition um we're working together with the public and with with government officials to see what we can do but my hope is that there's a a nonprofit that can come and and take over but I I know that it's not in our control at the moment but we're certainly applying pressure um and having these conversations with uh the stakeholders to make sure that there's a transition that at least that's what I hope um to see certainly we don't want any care to be um you know not provided we certainly I'm sure the state would do everything we can to provide those funds if if it is necessary for us to you know have a transition but don't know where that stands yet um but certainly would have my our [Applause] support thank you uh Senator Eldred and State Rep Sena our next agenda item is going to be reading the select for's official resolution requesting emergency declaration regarding the proposed closure of the nooba Valley Medical Center into the record board member Livingston official resolution requesting emergency declaration regarding the proposed closure of the nooba Valley Medical Center August 6th 2024 we the duly elected air select board given the impending proposed closure of the noova Valley Medical Center nbmc scheduled for August 31st 2024 officially implore that Governor Mora hey of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts exert her leadership and official powers to prevent the closure of the NM the MC including but not limited to declaring a state of Public Health Emergency to prevent the closure of the nvmc in addition to formally adhering to the 120-day closure process in accordance with Massachusetts state law whereas the nvmc in air Massachusetts is a 46 bed community hospital opened in 1964 which has continuously provided primary critical health care including emergency Health Services to the 15 towns of the nooba V Valley region of air Ashby Bolton Foxboro devons Dunstable Groton Harvard Lancaster Littleton peil Shirley Stow town and Westford with a combined population of approximately 114 14,39 Additionally the nishoba Valley Medical Center provides critical secondary emergency care to the other communities of north central Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire and whereas the nbmc receives approximately 16,000 emergency room visit annually and receives approximately 91,000 out patient visits annually and whereas the nvmc is geographically positioned in a key location to provide Central direct health care and emergency services to rural communities which do not have access to public mass transportation for patients to travel beyond the region for health care and emergency health services including our most vulnerable populations of the elderly disability community and children and where whereas currently the town of airs emergency response Advanced life support averages a 15 to 20 minute return to service when transporting to the nvmc which is only 2.4 miles from the air fire station the closest alternative hospitals to the town of air are as follows lemonster Hospital 11.5 miles Emerson Hospital 16.8 Mi L General 19.7 Mi and Southern New Hampshire Nashville 8 18.6 miles if nvmc closes air emergency response is estimated to take critical Services out of the response areas for up to an additional of 1 to 1 and A2 hours assuming no traffic in ideal weather conditions additionally these increased response times will have a significant negative impact on emergency survival rates as well as increased unfounded costs for emergency services for the towns of the nooba valley and whereas the nvmc is one of the largest employers of the town of air and the nishoba valley region employing approximately 500 jobs the loss of jobs and negative income impact to the local and Regional economy will be devastating and whereas the nbmc to date has not received a viable bidder to assume the operations of the hospital and the federal bankruptcy judge in July 31st 2024 ruled that Stuart medical the current owner and operator of nvmc to proceed with closing the hospital by August 31st 20124 in only 30 days as opposed to the 120 days per Massachusetts state law and whereas the impending closure of the nvmc by August 31st 2024 will create a healthc care desert desert in the nishoba valley region impacting over 100,000 residents of the Commonwealth in increased emergency response times to over an hour cut off direct local access to the public health care to the Region's most vulnerable populations create the loss of over 500 jobs and shutter the entire emergency response service for the 15 towns of the nishoba Valley Medical Center a man-made Public Health Emergency currently exists and whereas Governor morah hey has the power set forth in Massachusetts General Law chapter 17 section 2A as follows upon de Del declaration by the governor that an emergency exists which is detrimental to the public health the commissioner May with the approval of the governor and the public health Council during such period of emergency take such action and incur such liabilities as he may deem necessary to assure the maintenance of Public Health and the prevention of disease the commissioner with the approval of the public health Council May establish procedures to be followed during such emergency to ensure the continuation of essential Public Health Services and the enforcement of the same now therefore the air select board respectfully requests that Governor morah take the following immediate actions within her powers as governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as follows one per Mass General Law chapter 17 section 2A declared that a public health emergency exists with the impending closure of the nvmc and further instruct Dr Robert Goldstein commissioner of the Department of Public Health to take such action to assure the maintenance of Public Health by keeping the nvmc open and operational two that the governor pervert public statements on August 1st 2024 that Stuart should adhere to the 120-day closure per Massachusetts state law do everything in her power as Governor to ensure the 120 day closure period three that the governor worked with the federal state and local leaders of the nooba valley to develop a permanent transition plan with funding to ensure that the nvmc remains open and operational and ultimately transfers to a responsible owner we the air select board hereby issued this official resolution on August 6 2024 from the air Town Hall air Massachusetts and officially trans transmit this official resolution to Governor morah Healy governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Dr Robert Goldstein Commissioner of Department of Public Health of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with official copies transmitted to congresswoman Lori Trahan state senator Jamie Eldred State Senator John Cronin state senator Edward Kennedy state representative danella Senna state representative Mark RIT Scarsdale state representative James arero state representative Michael kushar state representative Natalie Higgins and official copies to the select Boards of the 15 affirmation towns of the nooba valley region sign signed this sixth day of August 24th by Sean C Copeland chair Christopher e Tara Vice chair Janice L Livingston clerk the air select [Applause] [Music] board thank you board member Livingston next I'd like to open up to a public question and answer period um for questions and answers specific to the N shopa Valley Medical Center and if we could please only use up to 2 minutes since there's a large crowd here I'd like to welcome you up to the microphone if you give your name and your address and then Carly if you could tell me when people want to share from zo Mr chair oh absolutely pleas so I've been here 19 years which makes makes me kind of a newcomer to this region um but within the first year of living here I had uh a little bit of a health scare first time going to nooba Valley uh Medical Center and you know I was treated well and it comforted me to know that this place exist existed um you know within a couple years later there was another just little injury that my wife had same thing just went up there knew that this existed and um when my daughter was about 3 years old she was dancing in our living room she she fell landed awkwardly on her arm and it was a Sunday night 9:00 p.m. and we knew we could go right up in the show medical get her checked out and she was back home with her cast within a couple hours and you know as a father an injury to your child is you know more concerned than anything in the world and having this place here it just you know made us all feel safe going into this Uncharted area of you know if this does close you know I'm scared and I I think we all are scared too right that's why we're here and I look out now and I see all the support really anything that I've ever dealt with that can be you know in a public forum you're going to have 50/50 you're going to have these people against these people for you're can to have a lot of arguments raise your hand if you're against this place [Music] closing I worded that very poorly okay so how about a show of hands who wants this place closed hey look at that 100% when have you ever seen that in a town hall everyone here straightforward wanting the same thing so I know Governor Healey is a basketball person this one's a Leo this one is very easy come out here and speak with us we have beautiful you know restaurants coffee places come out here see us talk to us once you see what this will do to not just this town these people here the whole entire region it becomes so simple so please Governor H Healey come out here talk to us break the silence and keep nvmc open than yes Mr chair so I was born in air and I was born in the hospital that is now nishoba assisted living there has been a hospital in this town I I believe since like 1929 24 okay uh I yeah I could have might I might have forgotten that right but my point is is that there is always been a hospital and the idea that this is going to be taken away but what's really really bothersome to me at this particular moment because we know we have the support is that the idea that Governor Hy you have come across is like you're not paying attention to us and it between this hospital and Carney you're talking of approximately 300,000 people being negatively affected there is no winning on this deal and yet I have seen more conversations about you and your ice cream trip than I have about you and this scenario and it's great that you had a conversation with people last last week and it's great that they gave you gave her them 10 minutes instead of a one minute which who has any time to say anything in a 1 minute is is you know that's great you you finally hurt okay but here's the thing Governor hle you when you ran you promised to be a leader and yet you are not because a leader will look around to see what their people need and make sure that they've done everything in their power to make sure that their people have all the supplies resources support whatever is needed so Governor Hy be a leader and support this hospital and Carney staying open because 300,000 lives that's just the people that live here now some of you are going to have company okay and God forbid they need assistance okay the so and now let's do the ripple effect okay some are people are going to go to lemonster hospital they can't handle it they can't handle what they have already they're not going to be able to handle all so now what could have been done in 1 2 hours 4 six oh my God we forgot you were still in that bed over there that is a scenario that's going to happen and it's not because they didn't care it's because they're overwhelmed and there is no reason for this situation so Governor Healey be a leader and let the people here know that you're paying attention and that you [Applause] [Applause] care thank you board member Livingston I don't like public speaking so I'm not really going to say much other than I would like to also reiterate that I invite the governor to please come and speak with us come see the Town come see the people that are going to be affected by this um as somebody who worked my last job I spent a lot of time at the lemonster hospital emergency room I can't imagine the negative outcomes that are going to happen when our EMS Services have to go out to lemoner or to Emerson and how bad that's going to be for calls that come after that um when those EMS services are already out um so just reiterate what my colleague said and please Governor her Le please come out and see us um and fight for sha Valley Medical [Applause] Center now if there's anybody who would like to come up to the microphone feel like here um my name is udbg I'm a registered nurse at nooba Valley Medical Center I can't thank you enough for that letter that's exactly what we need is for her to declare a public health emergency and then you know things get rolling in the place that can help sorry help save us and save the hospital um where she now has said that she wants to support the 120 days what and Senator alred you probably know what can she do or has she done since she said that to like back it up and have teeth to it is there you know any steps that she has taken or is planning on taking that you know of to do that yeah if I just through the through the chair um thank you audre and thank you so much for having that meeting with with uh Governor Healey um speaking out the rally last week is um yeah that is part of our letter is is is okay we appreciate Governor Hy um saying that she was going to you know require the 120-day notice but we we have myself R Cena and the legislative delegation specifically asked for a letter to be sent to the bankruptcy court um because it it it is implied that the administration was okay with the closure by August 31st so to to say that we do not support the immediate closure and that we demands uh and enforc through dph commissioner Goldstein the at the very least the 120-day notice but but that correspondence has not happened yet so that's that's why we sent this latest letter great and also just for an update um on Sunday night just for time thing that we're talking about with EMS peil which is one of the towns that mova gets quite a few patients from had to go to Emerson at 10:00 at night and their turnaround time with no traffic and they got off pretty quick they said they got the patient off the stretcher onto a bed their full turnaround time was 2 hours and 15 minutes for one call so that's no traffic with no traffic 10:00 at night thank you hi my name is Ed gide I 109 Thomson Street Pepple mass and uh 28 years ago I uh was having a hot attack was taken to uh MOBA and uh they got me out of there in a matter of minutes if flight down so they hate to see it go you know very important to me and the other thing that really bothers me every time I read it in the newspaper is this guy who owns it demands that his debts are taken over by the fire I've never heard of such a thing these bankruptcy laws are absurd I mean could you file bankruptcy and say hey my neighbor's going to take my Debs if he wants to buy my it's it's just absolutely crazy [Applause] [Music] okay where the second plane is a backup hi um Cindy Lavin director of Stone Soup Kitchen um I just want to advocate for people who do not have transportation we live in a area that does not have public transportation not reliable public transportation and um I know that you're all working I'm not yelling at you or anything I'm just bringing forward that there are quite a number of people that I love very very much that if this Hospital closes down I honestly don't know what they're going to do um thank [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you thank you my name is Peter kenningham from SL board member of the town of Bren and I appreciate uh the action that you've taken on this this letter I want to bring this back to my board and uh work with them on Crafting some something similar to s to the to the administration of Governor Healey I've also been disappointment with govern H's uh reaction on this it seems like Carney and the Shela Valley Medical Center sort of been collateral damage in this whole process going forward between the bankruptcy court and I had understood that conal had an attorney that was a a party that proceeding down there I don't know if there was a motion to appear or not but it was a proceeding but I don't I don't think the urgency and what I've seen reported of the situation here is getting communicated down there and the bankruptcy judge is making the decisions on those proceedings based on sort of a narrow vision of who the debtors are and and we have to make whole again but not what the impacts are uh and bankruptcy law I gu a little cut I don't understand it all but it's for a process like this to go forward and uh and and impact this region in the way it is is just unacceptable uh so I appreciate all the advocacy of our legislative delegation Senator ELD certainly been taking the lead on this and rep Senator rep Scarsdale um but but we certainly need to communicate that this is not acceptable and Governor H needs to be more aggressive uh and making sure this doesn't happen so thank you very much [Applause] Dr Paul [Applause] Harris for My office address is at the medical office building here and there I'm an board certified orthopedic surgeon that practicing care 33 years of yesterday happyn [Applause] taking care of infant all the way to the elderly um in my office over the last two weeks you know the the support that I get that the hospital is getting from the community is just amazing and you have to understand that this is I always looked at this as a community hospital never mind a medical center for a small community hospital uh we we're family and I mean that they're so sad the doctors the people who work at the hospital um or family this is not easy but for me I I feel I don't feel feel bad for the doctors I really don't I think we could find our place to work but the people who were going to lose their jobs to Nur in the St more importantly for our our patients our family we take care of we see them in the grocery store we see them on the playground we take care of them the secret of patient care is caring caring caring forcation and we care for people day in day as if they're our family and we take that's how we take care of them so I can understand quite honestly why the uh the Massachusetts and governing is upset with steart I'm upset with steart we're all upset with steart I can't believe corporate rud and Corruption Institute than they have but to think that we're going to let Steward continue to victimize the PTI our population and our the people who live in this area I just don't want our patients to continue to be collateral damage and and to know that we have perhaps the means that Governor he has the means in which to write this PR and not be so to me is morally unconfortable so you say I'm pretty worked up about this this has been my life caring for this community and the many the many communities that this Hospital service is a life F work it's a life one work for people who work at the hospital from post cleaning to maintenance of the nursing staff atone so the close this hospital is a gym it could never be it can never be replaced and it would be just an absolute tragedy to see this place flow when there's really no need for it to be [Applause] [Music] w hi Heather Waters I live at 37 Fletcher Street lived here about six years now and Dr H fixed my knee when I bred two years ago I'd like to understand what a qualified bid is it seems like there have been a lot of facilities who've made offers and if it's just up to Steward how is is an organization that's failed at keeping this hospital going able to be responsible for determining who's qualified to run it now [Applause] exactly I I could just I I don't have exact answer for that be cheap um but um e excellent question and I think the the hope now is you know given that the bankruptcy court has and the judge has made a decision but now there's this window for a separate purchaser right for the for the two hospitals and therefore there's a little more uh uh the standard if you will shifts more to to the administration the hel Driscoll Administration uh that could uh work to to secure qualified biders for the two hospitals so that's that's the short explanation of of how this is an opening and completely agree that Steward is clearly should should should not have uh nor should should be evaluating what what isn't isn't a qualified bidder so thank [Music] you Mr chair Chief Johnston uh if I might add the EMS component part of this um so I'll speak first on behalf of the town of air wherefor fortunate enough where we staff our station with the combination department where we have four career staff and we backf with either off duty members or call department members so we're able to staff our two ALS ambulances at the paramedic level all the time having said that we all here understand that most of that time now is going to be spent rather than say an ambulance tied up for 40 minutes total we're going to realize that that time's going to be pushed out to an hour an hour and a half so we understand those two ambulance could be on the road more than they ever have been but as select board member tar uh said we're entering uncharted waters we're just guessing at that time we don't know how quick they'll be able to get the person off our stretcher you know at the perceiving facility so those numbers are just you know our best estimates we really don't have a sample you know until the hospital with a close and as such as uh AUD said you know pepper was over 2 hours so those are the things we face and I think behind the scenes collectively um we've been meeting with all the Departments that are affected by that you know Fire Chiefs EMS coordinators to see what our best you know along with the dph representatives which were assigned to us when the news first broke so I think it's important to remember like the services will be there we just don't know so we can get two paramedic ambulances out but we don't know what the next one what's the next call going to you know be is it a mutual Aid ambulance are we going to be able to get somebody there on a firet truck to help that person this goes across the Thea Valley area but keep in mind collectively the Fire Chiefs and the people who run the EMS departments are working on that behind the scenes but it really is uncharted waters cuz our budgets are set this certainly will cost more money as we move forward if the hospital would close and like I said we have combination departments you know what I mean we don't have larger career departments where you know throughout the region there have small numbers and once you take that specifically that ambulance out of the region for a little bit it's a longer time frame before they're back into that thank you Mr chair thank [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you I'm not from Air I'm from Shirley my name is Tenny comor and I'm going to ask the attorney here uh Senator El um eldrid a legal question okay being as that's been my emergency room for some other medical doctors and I've been taken there at 2:00 in the morning by ambulance and uh I have a question uh why not deal with this private Equity mess that we have which I hope uh brings about a national law of change why why can't we just imminent domain the Billings amen okay I me years ago we had ban Capital come in and shut down Toys are Us I mean who takes a toy store away from children okay private Equity is doing this like same thing to uh all over the place and this is and U they're doing this to mobile home parts they're taking a land out from underneath people there are many other businesses the problem is is that immediately when it was bought you know for-profit hos hospital and land the building was immediately switched into a trust okay and then this is where the problem lies is the insane mortgage payments like I said imminent do imminent domain for the public good um that's what goes through my head anyway thank [Applause] [Music] you hi my name is Spencer Lane 31 coolage roog actually I'm only lived here a few years but uh I guess I really just have a question that because I've lived in a few places before I'm I'm almost 68 years old I've never seen a hospital have to shut down just because of financial issues I mean I I know some get outdated and they they can't be restored but just strictly for financial issues because of mismanagement so I guess my one of my questions or my main question is who was representing the hospital and the community at the uh at the hearings in Texas was there anybody there and if not why wasn't there thanks that's excellent question I don't but I don't I don't think anybody was no that's an excellent question I've been asking myself that question too one would think that the state would have sent someone there I mean this is this isn't like a normal bankruptcy this is like a factory that's going out of business of they not going to be manufacturing widgets in the town anymore I mean this is this is something that people's lives depend on and uh I think there should have been some accountability at that uh at the hearings I understand that the judge even had some comments about what was going on but his hand were tied or something I don't know so anyway I guess that's it just my wondering M Mr yes so I think Senator Marky had a letter WR to the judge is my understanding um and far as the judge I think the only question he could answer was about the bankruptcy but I agree where was the state where was the state they knew the governor knew about this I mean it's not like the bankruptcy hearing was going on without her knowledge or it didn't Blindside her she knew it was going to happen where where was she all right that's my [Applause] only another question perhaps we can ask more if she comes to see us what I'm sorry another question we can ask Governor hey if she comes to see us well I think that part of the problem Mr chair said you know right away upon the announcement of the hospital being closed well first there was the confusion of everything got a bid and then the next day it was like oh no two didn't or qualifying bid but then the uh the uh Governor announc like oh we're going to don't worry we we knew this was coming but we're going to create a database cuz those always work and we're so that you're going to know where you can go well first first of all databases take a while to get up and running we all know that but there again is that what a defe attitude that was you know oh we knew this was going to happen but we're building a a database why not have boots on the ground again ice cream Trail got a lot of recognition and a lot of talk Hospital oh we're going to build a database so explain that to me but then then you add on the other problem is that did the cap get removed from devans for housing did that get changed that that has not passed yet oh that has not passed yet but that is being considered which would mean more housing could go on dev which we all agree housing is needed but you might want to think twice before you move here because there's going to be no Health Services okay so so how Governor Healey can you want to do that that because you want to you know get a roof over people's head which we all agree we all want a roof overhead some people might have kids in their basement they want out who knows some of you going yeah but we're not going to have health services which will now make it even worse okay so again Governor Healey you have shown us a defeat as attitude and and we need you to step up to the plate we're you're capable of it you were attorney general you're Governor you're capable of stepping up to the plate but we need you to step up to the plate for this because lives are at stake livelihoods are at stake this cannot happen it is just unfathomable that we're even discussing this and and like the gentleman said that this hospital is not closing because it's run down it couldn't be repaired it's closing down because someone on a yacht with two planes that a board of directors gave him a $100 million umbrella hell could be more oh I think I said a before letter word I'm so sorry um you know the that that even the any board of directors thinks that that's acceptable no everything has to change but right now Governor healing we need you to front and center on this issue [Applause] [Music] amen incute Mr chairman uh yes Senator if I could just add to what uh select board member Livingston said about about devans and this is a letter that uh represent Cena and I just got maybe two hours ago led to to select board member Livingston's Point um there is a a letter um from the devans Enterprise commission and I I won't read the whole letter but one of the paragraphs says to the point of you know not just sort of the the human impact but the the economic impact the potential closure of the nooba Valley Medical Center uh the third paragraph says uh quote the closure of nooba Valley Medical Center will have significant impacts on a large vulnerable population as well as the many social support services within devans including Terra Vista Behavioral Health Center clear path for veterans transitions women's shelter Loaves and fish's food pantry and tri or Job Corp not to mention the federal bureau of prison in devans in Shirley with our aging and atrisk populations in devans and the surrounding region the need for the services that aova Valley Medical Center continues to grow so I just want to note that thank you thank you senator [Music] [Applause] [Music] I'm say the name okay P Miss pep [Music] Melanie Pepin okay we can come back to her Miss thank you Mr chair Pauline Conley C Street I'm smiling I'm not here to contradict anything you say I Echo everything you have said we all know that Spanky filing was done in May so this is not new news to most of us couple of concerns um from what I've read about the court proceedings the common wealth was represented I believe the law firm is named Dentons something I've never heard before but they may well be a Texas based Law Firm because that's where the bankruptcy filing is located I believe the m& was uh represented as well but it was a firm I also didn't recognize multiple name firm Senate you may recognize it also probably based in Texas I read a comment a quote from Judge Lopez who said and I have multiple articles on my phone I was trying to download them today and it didn't work but anyway the judge said he was conflicted with granting the order to close the hosps on August 31st because there was no opposition to Stewart's motion I have no not knowledge of whether that was true or not but at least it's a quote direct quote from the judge perhaps we need to contact him as far as supporting everything you do I will not change that position I will support all you do and all you try to do as representatives of the elected the residents are there but what I would like to ask the board not necessarily tonight but to address the concern on Facebook that we just take the land by ENT domain we've been down that road in the past we took Depot Square by Emin domain we were asked to take Devon's CR we made a very strong statement the board did about the fact that we couldn't do that the public needs to understand the process to know it could take one to two to three years and cost us millions millions in tax dollars so I would hope that you will address that at your next meeting or at least issue a statement so everybody understands full well what that entails it's not just go up there and take the keys it's go up there and hand a check for millions and millions of dollars and that is negotiated as we all know or most of us know so I would ask that you do that for your next meeting thank you all very much [Applause] [Music] apprciate even better so because the news media oh I know so so is [Applause] any for closer yeah oh sorry don't I usually have people telling me to back away from so now I now I don't know what to do um so here's the thing as as we've all seen on numerous occasions in our lives whether it be local or in the news for another state Connecticut you know about a decade or so um eminent domain does not happen overnight for the town of air and for example to take them in a domain first of all there'd have to be a few conversations so there's a few meetings okay there would have to be a review into like well if we did think about this where would we get the funding from because this is the unestimated and in this case it's probably billions okay uh and then you've got to go to town meeting okay so you got to declare it then you got to have town meeting well you have to have a certain amount of days before you can even have town meeting all right and now town meeting everybody's going to be for it until they hear how much it's going to cost them and that's the thing we don't have the money for it okay the state does maybe but this town does not and then you go into land court so then you got to hold that months of thing meanwhile the hospital's closed because we're and it could take years so I can tell you that if I thought that I could snap my fingers and it could be done I would okay because this impacts all of us but unfortunately eminent domain is not an option because even if then we took it over who's running it we can't handle running it so then we'd have to have to some type of board formed to be able to run the thing and everything that's just not in the cards for the local level okay but is it something that maybe should at least be discussed that's what I'm saying the don't have this defeated attitude you should be standing out there saying okay today we're looking at this option okay to come back tomorrow oh that one didn't work but while we were talking about that option we seg went into this and now we're talking about this and you explore every option every option so that when you go to bed at night you know you have looked at every option and again we have not seen that from this Administration come out and tell us that you're looking at something then come out and say okay that one didn't work but we're going to look at this but instead we've got this defeatist attitude well you know what we don't have it the Administration has it but we're not going down without an argument [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hi I'm H Zoe Harris I'm from 50 gron Harvard Road um I just want to point out that I was born in Fitchburg hospital and that doesn't exist anymore which so this is an alarming Trend in the area over my lifetime um I understand that the 30-day ruling was a federal ruling in Texas which is kind of mind BL that this court in Texas can have such an impact on our lives here in Mel Valley um and the 120-day notice is a state law so is that part of the problem is that we're dealing with Federal ruling versus the state law of the 120 days is is does the federal supersede that in that case and if we declare the state of emergency that we're requesting supersede everything that's my question I I am a lawyer that I do not practice one on television but um that's a great question and I think that's something that we've been analyzing is is Bankruptcy Court obviously being Federal you know H how does that relate to to state law but we we do believe it is possible for uh you know under under the public health emergency under the the state dph guidance of 12 20day notice for that to be invoked by the administration and so Governor Healey has talked about that for the first time last week thanks to a lot of the advocacy in this room and you know now we'd like that to be strictly enforced so we we do think it's possible but we we are we are looking to get a a more specific answer or not thank you thank you [Applause] Peter cing again I just I'd like to ask a question I guess of Senator alge and R Cena uh I understood that what's happened here is a textbook example of how a for-profit uh Enterprise coming in and basically pillaging resource and walking away with their you know with all their ill gotten gains um but that there had been a bill fil in the legislature to do something on Hospital reform or governance reform can you tell us where did that go forward or is that still before the legislature yeah so the so the the um the Senate uh did pass legislation just because uh the house to its credit had passed a bill around Community Hospitals but the Senate more recently in the face of the steart crisis included legislation that uh would have provided closer reviews of of any hospital that is owned by private Equity because because obviously that's the foundational problem um so that did pass in the Senate and now there's negotiation between the House and Senate uh you know hopefully to pass it in informal session um there was a colleague of mine in the Senate did pass legislation to give the governor greater powers to maintain Healthcare Services uh if the hospital were to close I I did vote for that but it did not did not pass the Senate so clearly it's you know it's it's a bit of a a moving uh entity in the sense that these things are just coming upon us and we're we're trying to get as indicated as possible in the legislature I mean I appreciate how laws you know passed at this point are probably too late for the situation but but great urgency I think needs to be applied uh to to getting legislation passed that uh could prevent something like this from happening again because it's just U you know we we find ourselves in a position we're in because we don't have the tools perhaps the governor doesn't have the tools uh to do what what needs to happen right I may say I mean we the fact the bill there was a provision on the bill that talked about the land and issue what the steward did uh to prevent that from happening in the future um I will say that looking throughout the past years the fact that the state have helped Steward with millions of dollars year after year um to a point in which L all we found out this is not feasible um the fact that any any private entity whether if the state is providing some assistance or some support that those finances needs to be public information that needs to be disclosed and the fact that this was not the case here with Stuart and we asking for those numbers I mean the fact that that's the case I mean we need to make sure that that's that that doesn't happen um so I'm it's it's infuriating to see what has happened to us as as residents as patients as and I'm sure the people that work at the hospital they want to be work there they want to provide care and thank you for that doctor who gave a so powerful state statement thank you um it's just very very concerning and certainly thank you for your question cuz we we have attempt uh to try to you know um minimize the the impact but uh we need to look ahead I think we need to look in the future uh see how the best way the best method for us to provide health care and I think we have to have discussion on What entity who do we want um certainly uh you know we have bills we have ways to you know healthare for all and and make sure the government has a stake has a role or that certainly this is public it's it's a public entity it's it's something where we rely just to to be able to live so we don't want a private entity to be controll all that and I think that's why we are here today so thank you thank [Applause] [Music] you hi Matthew marphy live at 95 Washington Street so kind of a statement and then a question so the first is when they declared bankruptcy back in I think it was March or may my suggestion going forward for the administration or any future administrations let's take them at the word that they're bankrupt and start planning for a closure then because they may have said oh we're going to find a buyer but their credibility is not the greatest um so in the future I would take that back is as soon as one of these Healthcare enies declares bankruptcy start planning for worst case scenario from that day one and figure out how we're going to make this work um the second is the statement is great what you guys have put out is great how do we move the ball on this as Citizens and get this done because we're now the the clock is ticking we're now in a 2-minute drill how do we make this work how do we get this finished over the ball or over the goal line sorry for all the sports metaphors but um that's what I'm best that so how do we help what do we what can we do as Citizens that all came up and took time of attend uh day and and away from our feelings to help you guys so thank you yeah um I just this morning or this afternoon I got a call from dph um that tomorrow they're going to announce um an in-person hearing on Thursday August 15th at 6:00 at the dev Comming Center and a Sher virtual hearing on Monday um August 19th at 6 p.m. and and and to to also we we did we're reaching out to the the Chiefs um of the the area particularly I represent Shirley a Harvard um and gron um so reaching out to those Chiefs and having a a conversation with the commissioner Goldstein um on on this to find out what what are we doing moving forward um and so I think that's very important that we we keep those dialogue and those discussions happening um so represent repeat the DAT yeah so uh this is going to be public tomorrow I um I did ask if I could share this idea um Thursday um August 15th at 600 p.m. at devans comment Center and then the virtual hearing on Monday August 19th at 6:00 p.m. um and this from dph schedu sayal service closure hearings for nooba um and that's I think will be public tomorrow so Carly is there anybody on Zoom yeah I just went like mag I have don't say that were there any by now I should be the media my apologies okay so I'm m p they catch my breath Senator El uh represent Cena I'm talking to all of you um I know Cindy Lavin was here I believe she just stepped out okay so I've been sping with Carly bunch of people okay I had the privilege of watching hearings last week and Google was an amazing thing you can find links and I sent the links to a few uh special people that I thought would be interested in this information um from my own personal experience I found it troubling that the people that represented the state of Massachusetts down in Houston I found that the attorney of the Massachusetts Nurses Association was Far More in support of keeping our Hospital open however the attorney that was representing the state I do not know his name he was too complacent and he was far too easy uh far too easy going with it I found it was troubling that somebody that would travel that far on our taxpayer taxpaying dollars mind you that they're going to just sit there and be like oh no problem we'll make sure all the patients and the doctors and all these jobs that we lose it's going to be fine and I remember sitting there saying wait a minute and it was about 3 hours long the first hearing and not once and I know there were others that were watching with me however not once did I hear anybody from Massachusetts state the fact that Dr delor is being subed on September 12th and he is in constant NE ation regarding International crimes that he's being investigated about and I can't understand now I'm not a lawyer but my grandfather wanted me to be one and he would be extremely proud of me today so grand for sugar this is for you um how can a bankruptcy federal judge um go against something that's being federally investigated so my fear so these are questions comments so take it as it is they say August 31st correct however if they go ahead and close it and then on September 12th uh Senator Mary all the ones that uh is subing him and they start asking questions about Thea Valley Medical Center well we're closed well we need to see paperwork we need to see what's going on here who's running the books who was doing this who was doing that oh we're really sorry but we closed on August 31st so you know where is the accountability where is the Integrity of this company uh you know I've heard he's on his boat in the middle of the Cayman Islands and it's like we're going to let this guy get away with it so my fear is maybe this has all been going on behind closed doors and just maybe the state has their own agenda and even though we're trying our best to put signs up across town which my husband and I did with our own money and I was out yesterday in 90° weather driving around town putting up safe to show the hospital because I moved into this town 10 years ago knowing that I'd have a hospital and a fulltime fire police EMS thriving town that got closed and now you're just going to take our Hospital away so my fear is is that if the governor comes in and says it's a public emergency after August 31st how do we know that they don't have bigger plans to do something with that hospital whether it be a state hospital whether it's something else and obviously we're not privy to that however I think that it would be a grave mistake if Governor Hy turns her eyes to this because her election for a re-election I believe is 2027 so I think that people need to keep that in mind and if I can speak for uh the families that maybe don't have good health care that don't have uh the access like I do where I've had to actually leave this area and go to Boston to find better care I have the luxury healthc care is a necessity but it's also a luxury and we can't forget the people that don't have access so I really hope Senator Aldridge and representative Cena and all of you that you take your job very seriously because there's thousands of people waiting to see what we're going to do next and I commend you for all of your hard work but please don't forget about the town of [Music] a thank you I'm next going to ask our town manager Robert poman to say a few words good evening and welcome back and as I said last week I'll say it again that closure is not a viable option I think it's important what Mr Murphy asked is what is the plan and what are the new what are the next steps and again I think number one we need to continue to stress that closure is not a viable option because actions do speak louder than words and unfortunately we've just had some rhetoric from the governor but no action so therefore it looks like the plan which they also don't have is to let it close and let the chips fall I hope I'm I hope I'm wrong but I think the key thing is that closure is not a viable option so a couple of facts I think we have to operate on the assumption that as we sit here on August 6th there is no plan and what the select board is trying to do and all of you are trying to do as far as next steps as we we have to continue to put the pressure on the governor to communicate because there been no communication since this started we're sitting here on August 6th in the select board myself and many of you there's been no direct communication from the governor except when our our nurses out in lemonster through the efforts of Mayor mazarella were able to basically ambushed her forgive me for the term in the hall and got a whole 11 minutes so the fact is the governor keeps saying that Steward created the problem we all know that and what happens to Dr Del Toro and Steward will be in the hands of the feds the Department of Justice congresswoman Trahan our US senators he's been subpoenaed to Congress they don't know where he is but while all of that happens will take time the hospital that's not going to save the hospital so the governor keeps saying that steward creat cre this problem not the state I have consistently said yes steuart has created the problem but Governor it is our opportunity to solve the problem we didn't create the problem but it is incumbent upon her and every public official from the federal level all the way down to myself and our boards and committees on the local level to solve this problem so closure is not a viable option we know why we must stay that course secondly the state must and can that's the key thing must and can solve this problem as of now they're choosing not to why your guess is as as good as mine this is an opportunity for the governor the select board has invited her as many of you have to come to air to come to the nooba valley region with our federal state and local officials let's sit down and put together a plan for Success now what does that plan need it needs three things immediately one we need a certified operator and as selectman Livingston and others said many have brought up why doesn't the town take the hospital and the board will speak in more detail on August 20th about why eminent domain is not the proper fit for any Town not just air could be an option for the state but again that's the governor but we need an operator to operate the hospital we need funding and the discussion we know that the state has funding and perhaps there's Federal funding and maybe there's even some local funding I hope the select board doesn't get mad at me for saying that but what I'm saying is we haven't even talked about that note we haven't sat down to talk about an operator to talk about funding and to talk about the plan so the reason that the 120 days needs to be extended and frankly if I was the governor and I'm not I would have asked the Attorney General right when this ruling came to file an injunction or something it's still been silence the governor keeps saying it should be 120 days well what is she doing it goes back to actions speak louder than words so the importance of the 120 days at this point is we need more time I've talked to Dr pea the local president up at MOBA the people he's talked to how can you put together a plan in 3 weeks so at least let's get the 12 20 days as Senator Ard said we'd like to see the governor ink that and take some action so it's not just a rhetorical um statement so unfortunately to Mr Murphy's question which is great because I think we're all people of next steps and action is the frustrating part is we need the governor to respond to respond to you to respond to these talents we need to meet number one number two we can't accept closure and you all know why life is that St closure is not a viable option so let's take that right off the table meet with the governor come up with a funding plan so that there's a transition that we can keep nooba operating now come up with the funding and the operator and move to success my final point and I thank the chair for the opportunity the signs are going up which is great and there's a banner and there's several of them there's one of them up outside the town hall and it says and I'm going to paraphrase and I may get it wrong in it it says to do what is right not what is easy we all know the right thing to do we need to do it it's not going to be easy Governor it's not going to be cheap Governor but in the end it's the right thing to do so please know that our next steps is to continue the the the pressure and the communication and to get the governor out here is the first step and to sit down and put together the plan moving forward and so with that I thank you all for all of the time and effort and know that the town of air is with you 100% because the stakes are too high and closure is not a viable option must be our only position on this thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] anybody else my name is ber Gibson I'm a retired staff sergeant and in 1994 I closed couler Army hospital because I worked in legistics there was 250,000 veterans families in the six state region that received uh Health Care through Fort Devin when it CL I can't stand by and watch this Hospital close this hospital has saved my life twice it's taking care of my kids and my wife my friends and the kids that I've coached and that have got h on the field this is a very important hospital I also am the commander of air American Legion and I represent a lot of senior citizens senior citizens need a local hospital because the next heart attack could be the last if there's no hospital I want to make sure that the governor knows that we're all important people it doesn't make any difference what we look like where we're from or who we are we are important save this [Applause] hospital jeene I'm not a good speaker so I apologize but I worked with the best I gave half my life to the hospital and like you said we all are upset about losing our jobs but we more upset about the patients that I'm not going to get the care as a Financial counsel there the certifi counselor insurances are through the roof and a lot of people out pray dinner so now they're not going to come they're not going to know where to go they come into a hospital as a stranger and then they leave as family because up the nurses and as Dr H showed we care about our patients and that's what the bottom line is and the gentleman said it's all seniors veterans the ones that need the most respect you know right now I'm looking at losing my job but I'm caring about my the patients that come my husband actually has been a patient he's looking at full major surgery Dr H is going to was going to be doing one but now his hands are tied so now it's like we don't know what I'm going to do was insurance but my husband's he is requir so we just need that govern to be to come out to the hospital and see what a great staff we have as Audra is the best speaker who has spoken with us that El good you've been by side we thank you all for coming but thank you [Applause] [Music] all hi my name is Jennifer Watson I'm a nurse at theal hospital I've been working there for 15 years and I just wanted to draw attention to the fact that most of us have Primary Care positions in this area and when we need testing such as Labs x-rays CAT scans mogs anything like that we do it at mova so now all these Primary Care positions are going to have to refer us to another facility and those facilities probably already when you call to make your mammogram appointment you're going to wait a few weeks couple of months and now you add all the population of this area calling to make appointments for those things as well and it's going to be forever to you can get your appointment so um in addition to us just wanting to save this hospital for as everybody has said our family because that's what we are um we need to think about consequences such as not being able to get your medical monitoring services on at hospital thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Dr hernon Thea Valley Emergency Department and I've got to use notes on this one or I'm going not going to be on task I've been an ER doctor since 2005 I've worked at an academic Medical Center a City Public Health Hospital suburban and now more rural hospitals I became an EMT when I was 16 and A2 years old over in Bolton Massachusetts I promise you that I know what I'm talking about with respect to emergency medicine and emergency response I'm not exaggerating when I say that some of our community members are being consigned to death by asking our injured and Ill friends and family to travel an additional 25 to 30 minutes to adjacent hospitals not all patients have those minutes I can think of the patients that I worked so hard with a team of nurses Tech secretaries everyone in the emergency department to save that life even in the back of an advanced life support ambulance even if the ambulance isn't the third one out mutually Aid delayed response time not every patient even with the best Advanced cardiac life support can survive without the capability that we have in an emergency department sometimes this will certainly increase mortality and suffering and there is research that can be findable to document some of these things the more we learn the more we understand how the bullies of Steward had M have masterminded our for interviews and as these days go by we are learning how Expendable we are to Governor Healey and public health commissioner Goldstein these two agencies that have the power to protect this community are choosing to say their hands are tied in case of Governor Healey or to say nothing in the case of Dr Goldstein their decision has already seemingly been made we don't have a chance and it feels like the state is watching the bullies bully us and to that that I can speak on personally there is nothing worse than suffering feeling bullied feeling like you're being beat down and people are actually standing around and watching that feeling of they know what we're going to lose they know that over 110,000 people are going to have compromised healthare creating a relative care desert in Massachusetts they know that and yet still the silence and silence resonates across the state people are thinking they must be okay with it local Fire Chiefs EMS directors understand exactly what's going on here but at the state level I think they think well we'll work it out you know other hospitals have closed we'll work it out it'll be fine where is The Feisty fight from them where's the outrage how dare they do this to this community how dare they inflict this upon my patients Dr Harris switz's patients all of the Physicians patients the nurses the attention the texts the amount of love that comes from a Community Hospital taking care of a patient is why I choose to work in a community hospital I prefer to work in a community hospital I have never been in a place that is more loving and caring and supportive for the patients that come through our doors I'm hoping that we can start to hear a feisty fight from other communities from Boards of Health from other Town Managers from from Springfield from Boston from Worcester from other Hospital agencies that say you know what closing a community hospital is always a bad idea and regardless of politics regardless of money we can stand up and say closing a community hospital is a bad idea everyone should be clamoring absolutely not because if this can happen in our community it can happen in any community and thank you to everyone who is here who showed up in this room everyone behind me who are the people clamoring and saying this is not okay because closure is definitely not a viable option [Applause] [Music] [Applause] any other speakers um before we adjourn I'd like to thank state representative uh Senate state senator Jamie alridge board member Livingston board member Taris and town manager poman there's nothing else I thereor so I I like to look at historical data so I would encourage you to look for where a hospital like this was closed anyway and find out if it actually gets solved I I just think if it's it has to have happened somewhere so I would just encourage you thank thank you [Applause] chair yes something else so that we can get this letter sent I move that we adjourn a second all those in favor I chair says I and I've never used this but J thank you everyone [Music] [Applause]