AYER, Mass. - With less than two weeks until Nashoba Valley Medical Center is scheduled to close, those looking to save the hospital aren’t giving up on their efforts just yet. 

Days after plans were announced for five hospitals owned by Steward Health Care to be transitioned to new ownership, Ayer Town Manager Robert Pontbriand said there’s still a concerted effort to find a path forward for Nashoba Valley Medical Center, and he’s urging Gov. Maura Healey to come to the table.

What You Need To Know

  • Nashoba Valley Medical Center is slated to close on Aug. 31

  • Advocates remain focused on keeping the hospital open for surrounding communities

  • At a Friday press conference, Gov. Maura Healey announced future plans for five other Steward Health Care facilities

  • Local leaders have suggested potential buyers are still out there, they just need more state assistance

“We're hearing from hundreds and thousands of people across the region about how important this is, and everybody is willing to come to the table except for one person, which is Gov. Healey at this point,” Pontbriand said. “So we're again asking the governor to meet with us, and let's work to solve this problem.”

During a Friday press conference, Healey pledged to work with impacted patients, employees and surrounding communities to transition care to nearby hospitals.

While some, including Pontbriand and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, have argued there is more the Healey Administration could be doing to save Nashoba Valley Medical Center and Carney Hospital, there doesn’t appear to be anything currently in consideration.

“I am really upset about what Steward did, which was run them to the point that after an exhaustive process, unlike the other hospitals, there was no hospital operator willing to come forward with a bid to continue operations of those facilities,” Healey said Friday. “That’s why those hospitals are set to close.”

But Pontbriand argues there have been signs other parties could be willing to piece together a plan to keep Nashoba Valley Medical Center open, particularly if the state would be willing to provide more financial support to close a deal.

He said even though the clock is ticking, there’s still an eleventh-hour opportunity to make this a success story.

“We remain cautiously optimistic that we can secure the intent of an operator before Aug. 31,” Pontbriand said. “If for some reason we can’t, all of us out here, 150,000 people in 17 towns, remain committed to keeping that hospital open, even if it closes on Aug. 31. We’re not just going to go away and give up, we have to continue.”

He said there may even be anonymous donors willing to help facilitate a transition to new ownership, or the state could seize the hospital using eminent domain as it did for another Steward-owned hospital on Friday.

Either way, he said these communities are far from giving up.

“Nobody said it's going to be easy, and nobody said it's not going to cost something,” Pontbriand said. “But we would argue that the economic and financial costs of closing this hospital are going to be far greater than finding a way to keep it open, not only for today's generation, but for the future.”

During Friday’s press conference, Healey said deals have been reached to transition operations for Saint Anne’s, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital and Morton Hospital to new operators, while Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital would be seized through eminent domain to facilitate a transition to new ownership.