MNA Mercy Medical Center Nurses to Host Virtual Community Forum on November 20 about 'Temporary' Closure of Family Life Center

Nurses and community members to discuss impacts on maternity care and how to demand accountability for essential services

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Nov. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Registered nurses at Mercy Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), are inviting the public to a virtual community forum on Thursday, November 20, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to address the announced "temporary" closure of the hospital's Family Life Center (FLC) beginning December 8. The closure would eliminate essential maternity care access for families in Springfield and across Western Massachusetts.

The forum will bring together nurses and healthcare workers, local families, and community supporters to discuss what this decision means, why it matters, and how residents can take action to protect essential maternal health services. Mercy's announcement has sparked alarm that the closure could become permanent, especially as the hospital moves to lay off FLC staff and considers a potential sale to Baystate Health.

Virtual Community Forum Details
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Zoom:www.massnurses.org/MercyForum

"Mercy didn't end up in crisis overnight – this is the result of Trinity Health's ongoing failure to recruit and retain staff, offer competitive wages, and honor the hospital's mission," said Jaime Hyatt, RN, Co-Chair of the MNA Bargaining Committee at Mercy. "We are also disappointed that the Department of Public Health, which is meant to protect and ensure top quality healthcare and access, has yet to hold owner Trinity Health accountable through its inaction. We stand with our community to demand the unit stay open and to hold the hospital accountable for restoring safe, reliable maternity care."

"Nurses, patients, and community members are coming together to demand a reopening date because the Family Life Center and our entire hospital are essential to the health and well-being of our community," saidDee Doyle, RN, Co-Chair of the MNA Bargaining Committee at Mercy. "We are also seeking transparency through the Department of Public Health to ensure the public is involved in deciding the future of Mercy's essential healthcare services."

What the Forum Will Cover

• Impact on Patient Care: Hear directly from Mercy nurses about the risks to mothers, newborns, and families if maternity services disappear.
• Community Implications: Learn how eliminating the FLC will worsen racial and economic health disparities, creating deeper "maternal care deserts" in Western Massachusetts.
• Accountability and Action: Discuss how residents can demand transparency, insist on a reopening date, and ensure that the Department of Public Health enforces its required hospital closure process.
• Regional Concerns: Understand the broader threat to hospital services, especially amid discussions about a possible sale to Baystate Health.

Why the FLC Closure Matters

• The FLC provides safe, local maternity care that families throughout Springfield rely on for high-quality, compassionate services.
• "Temporary" closures often become permanent. Once a service shuts down, it rarely returns, and Mercy is already laying off FLC staff.
• Nurses believe the closure stems from chronic mismanagement and diminishing investment in the hospital's mission and community commitments.
• Without strong public pressure and oversight from state officials, maternity care in the region could be permanently reduced.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 26,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association