by Joan Eliyesil ·
Friday, December 20, 2024
Thanks to a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, many patients who were accustomed to receiving care from the now-closed Nashoba Valley Medical Center will have access to a shuttle to Emerson Hospital. The free service will be run by the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority and is expected to begin in mid-to-late January.
Bruno Fisher, CEO of MART, told the Press the shuttle will likely make six trips a day, five days a week, from towns such as Fitchburg, Leominster, and Devens. The program, including the route, is currently in the planning stages. Fisher said that over the next few weeks, MART plans to reach out to administrators in the towns that used to be served by Nashoba Valley Medical Center, such as Ayer, Shirley, and Harvard, to talk about interest as well as pickup and drop-off points.
Fisher said the current commuter rail station shuttle stop at the plaza that includes Rollstone Bank, which includes six parking spaces, would be the most likely location for Harvard’s Emerson shuttle stop. He added that MART doesn’t want to duplicate coverage, so he also plans to get in touch with Councils on Aging in the towns being considered for the shuttle to determine if there is already sufficient transportation to Emerson.
Harvard COA Director Debbie Thompson told the Press there is high demand in town for transportation to Emerson Hospital. She said that even when the Nashoba hospital was still running, many Harvard seniors preferred the specialists with offices at Emerson, and it was also the hospital of choice for X-rays and lab work.
Thompson said she was concerned that seniors who don’t drive would have difficulty getting to and from a shuttle stop, so they might still rely on the COA’s MART van, which picks them up and drops them off at their homes. But she added that the Emerson shuttle would provide greater flexibility for scheduling appointments. Currently, appointments have to fit in the limited hours that the COA van operates. Fisher said the Emerson shuttle’s six loops would probably provide about 10 hours of coverage a day. Thompson praised MART for starting the service, and said the agency was “coming up with great ideas for new programs.”
The amount of the MassDOT grant for the Emerson shuttle is $278,250. It will support the program through June 2026.