AYER, Mass. – A court filing shows Nashoba Valley Medical Center may shut down on Aug. 31, and first responders in the region are sounding the alarm before it’s too late.

According to the documents, the state is providing Steward Health Care $30 million to help transition six of its hospitals to new ownership, but Nashoba Valley Medical Center is currently without a buyer.

“I would say that’s the path they’re going down. Unless someone in state government tells us differently, it looks like it’s going that way,” Ayer Fire Chief Timothy Johnston said of the impending closure.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association claims closing Nashoba Valley Medical Center without providing 120 days notice violates state law. The union rallied outside of Carney Hospital in Boston on Monday, which is also facing an Aug. 31 closure.

“The loss of these hospitals will not only impact these patients and communities, but will also compromise the care for patients served by other hospitals in the region,” said MNA President Katie Murphy. “Hospitals that are already overwhelmed, and will now be forced to absorb those patients abandoned by the result of these closures.”

Steward Health Care filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. The company owns eight hospitals operating primarily in Eastern Massachusetts.

Nearby towns, including Ayer, Pepperell and Groton, have predicted emergency response times may nearly double once the hospital is shut down.

“If you need to go in an ambulance, it’s not going to be a short ride,” Johnston said. “It used to be a 10- or 15-minute ride and potentially, it’s going to be a 35- or 40-minute ride to get to the hospital.”

These departments would likely have to bring patients to hospitals in Leominster, Lowell, Concord or Nashua, New Hampshire.

Last week, a Senate committee voted to authorize an investigation into the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care and subpoena CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre. The embattled executive was the subject of harsh criticism at Monday’s rally outside Carney Hospital.

“To Ralph de la Torre and Steward Health Care, your actions are unacceptable,” said Rep. Ayanna Presley (D-MA 7th District). “And I’m outraged, because this is outrageous.”

In a statement last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) also called the impending closures of Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center "outrageous," and vowed to hold Steward executives accountable while fighting to help protect health care access.

“CEO Ralph de la Torre and Steward’s entire executive team need to be stripped from their roles at the company, and investigated for any wrongdoing,” Warren said. “State and federal lawmakers need to do everything in our power to prevent this from happening again.”

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) echoed similar sentiments upon learning of Steward’s intentions, and blasted the corporation at Monday’s rally.

“We’re going to force Dr. de la Torre off of his $40 million yacht to sit before the Health Committee and answer the questions which Carney workers want him to answer about how he looted this hospital of its ability to be able to provide healthcare to the community,” he said.