LEOMINSTER, Mass. - UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital announced the closure of the maternity inpatient unit at its Leominster campus.  

Amy Gagnon has been a labor and delivery nurse there for 12 years. She is one of the 50 nurses and technicians who oppose the closure and say it will jeopardize the heath and safety of mothers in north-central Massachusetts. 

Gagnon said moms will be forced to deliver in emergency rooms, if they don't have the means or time to make it to Worcester, which would be the closest maternity unit. 

"If she came in and everything was stable, we still don't have an obstetrician, we don't have a pediatrician, there is no labor and delivery nurse, there's no equipment down in the emergency room to deliver this mom," she said. "We have everything we need up on the unit. So, there are many things that can go wrong during a delivery where you would need these people present."

In a statement, UMass Memorial Health Alliance-Clinton Hospital President Steve Roach said staffing challenges, paired with a declining number of births in the region, led to the closure, but they are working with local service providers to maintain access to women's health services in the area. 

Nurses and local lawmakers are set to protest outside of the hospital Tuesday night. The unit is scheduled to close September 22, pending approval.