Merrimack Health is preparing to shut down the maternity unit at its Methuen campus and move all childbirth and neonatal care to its Lawrence Hospital campus, setting off a high-stakes fight over where local families will deliver their babies. The health system has filed a formal Closure of Essential Services application with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, triggering a state review and public-hearing process. Under the proposal, Methuen would lose 24 maternity beds and 10 special care nursery bassinets, and roughly 85 employees would be affected by the shift, as per Merrimack Health.
Why the System Says It Is Consolidating
Merrimack Health says this is about building “a stronger and more coordinated center of high-quality maternity care,” not cutting corners. In a press release via Merrimack Health, the system pointed to low patient volumes at Methuen and noted that two-thirds of its deliveries already happen at Lawrence.
Methuen averages fewer than two deliveries a day, according to the system, and its special care nursery typically has a daily census of fewer than one infant. The application also asks the state to sign off on removing seven unused pediatric beds at Haverhill and converting 20 unstaffed pediatric beds at Methuen into adult medical-surgical beds. If state regulators give the green light, Merrimack says the consolidated maternity and neonatal services would take effect on August 1, 2026.
Union and Community Concerns
Nurses and community advocates see something different: another maternity unit vanishing from the map. The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) says this would mark the 13th maternity-unit closure in just over a decade, and is urging regulators to dig into the public-health consequences before signing off.
MNA spokesperson David Schildmeier has questioned whether the drop in patient numbers reflects real demographic change or fallout from the loss of physician practices and market disruption tied to the Steward Health crisis. Reporting from The Boston Globe has detailed those union concerns and the broader fight over access to local maternity care.
State Review and Timeline
Under state rules, closing an essential hospital service is not something that happens overnight. Massachusetts requires a multi-step review that starts with a 120-day notice and includes a public hearing at least 60 days before any proposed closure. The Department of Public Health then issues a determination after the hearing, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Merrimack Health has told regulators that Methuen will continue to receive and care for maternity patients throughout this review period and that there will be no immediate changes while DPH evaluates the filing. If the state signs off after public comment and the hearing, the system plans for the new consolidated setup to begin on August 1, 2026.
What This Means for Local Families
Health reporters and advocates say consolidations like this can have real consequences, especially for people who do not have reliable transportation and may now have to travel farther while in labor. As maternity units shrink in some parts of Massachusetts and across the country, the concern is less about shiny facilities and more about whether patients can get to them in time.
Coverage by local outlets picked up Merrimack Health’s filing on Wednesday and noted that Methuen will keep running emergency, surgical and outpatient services while the state review plays out, according to WHAV. National health reporters have also chronicled a rise in maternity-unit consolidations that advocates argue deserve close oversight.
Next Steps and What to Watch
The filing starts a 120-day clock for public input. DPH will announce details for at least one public hearing and publish legal notices in local newspapers, giving residents, health workers and local officials a formal chance to weigh in.
Hospital leaders say they plan to work with affected staff and aim to move most into maternal-child roles at Lawrence or other parts of the system. Community groups and nurses, meanwhile, are gearing up to make their case to regulators during the DPH process. The progress of that review, along with DPH’s eventual ruling on the closure, will be the key milestones for families, staff and elected officials to watch, as reported by The Boston Globe.
