by John Osborn ·
Friday, December 12, 2025
A new regional initiative launched last week promises to address health care access challenges facing Nashoba Valley communities, including Harvard and Devens, following the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in August 2024.
The Nashoba Health Equity Partnership, announced in a Dec. 4 press conference, will bring together local health organizations with support from a three-year, $250,000 grant from The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts. The partnership will focus on improving health care access and addressing social determinants of health in nine towns formerly served by the hospital.
The nine towns are Harvard, Ayer, Lancaster, Shirley, Groton, Lunenberg, Ashby, Townsend, and Pepperell. Devens is also included through the Devens Enterprise Commission, which serves as the redevelopment zone’s board of health.
The initiative emerged from work by the Nashoba Valley Health Planning Working Group, convened by Gov. Maura Healey in 2024 after the hospital closure left residents scrambling for emergency and outpatient care options. Local municipalities, health organizations, and community members collaborated to assess regional needs and propose solutions. The group issued a report and disbanded in March, citing a range of problems created by the closure but leaving the search for solutions to the affected municipalities and local health organizations.
“Communities in the Ayer region have been piecing together solutions to improve health care access and transportation with limited resources,” Amie Shei, president and CEO of the health foundation told the two dozen launch attendees. “We see tremendous value in the initiatives already underway.”
Speakers at the launch highlighted pressing concerns, including high demand for emergency services, strain on local EMS providers, and transportation barriers preventing residents from reaching medical care. Jenna Montgomery, communications specialist with the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health, presented preliminary data from the community health needs assessment it aims to release Dec. 19. She noted that concern for the mental health of area youth was one of the highest priorities cited by respondents.
Chelsey Patriss, executive director of the Health Equity Partnership of North Central Massachusetts, which will coordinate the work of the new Nashoba partnership, spoke of the comprehensive approach that will inform the group’s work. “People are healthier when they have economic opportunities, strong social networks, and engaged and thoughtful leadership,” she said.
The partnership supports several ongoing initiatives, including UMass Memorial Health’s satellite emergency facility currently under construction in Groton, plus transportation and a telehealth program funded by the American Association of Retired People designed to connect residents with care.
The initiative is supported by the Healey-Driscoll administration’s Advancing Health Equity in Massachusetts program.
Devens and the Nashoba Health Equity Partnership
Although not shown on maps distributed at last week’s press conference, the Devens Enterprise Commission is actively participating in the newly launched Nashoba Health Equity Partnership, leveraging its role as the local board of health for Devens residents and businesses.
The DEC has been involved since before the partnership’s inception, Director Neil Angus told the Press, contracting with Nashoba Associated Boards of Health for health inspectional services and helping distribute the community health needs prioritization survey throughout Devens. Survey results were presented at a Nov. 20 session and summarized at last week’s partnership launch.
With health care access identified as a critical regional challenge, Angus said Devens is tackling transportation barriers through a collaborative effort with the Community Health Partnership of North Central Massachusetts, MART, and the North Central Massachusetts Rides Transportation Management Association. The commission is working to improve local and regional transit options that connect residents to health care facilities, businesses, and other essential services.
Specific initiatives include exploring the use of on-demand services to get people from rural areas to area transit stations, including the use of technology similar to that of Uber and Lyft to find and schedule rides. The challenge, said Angus, is to make it easier and more efficient for riders to book transportation and for the DEC to track the origin and destination of ride requests. These efforts build on Devens’ existing transit services and connections to MBTA commuter rail stations, he said.
The DEC also recently received a state Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant to engage under-represented and vulnerable populations in its planning, including elderly residents, nonprofits, small businesses, and low-income residents—populations that often face the greatest health care access challenges.
This comprehensive approach aligns with the DEC’s Healthy Communities Proclamation with its pledge to integrate public health principles into its local planning and zoning, and will contribute to the health partnership’s strategies for improving health outcomes across the Nashoba Valley, said Angus.
—John Osborn