SPRINGFIELD – Mercy Medical Center was surprisingly close to shutting down before the deal announced two weeks ago to be taken over by the much larger Baystate Health, area lawmakers learned Monday.
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“They were literally months away from shutting the doors,” said state Rep. Orlando Ramos, D-Springfield. “And Baystate basically saved the hospital. I didn’t know it was that close. I didn’t know it was that bad.”
At the time Mercy and Baystate made their announcement April 27, public officials expressed concern that Mercy’s owner, Trinity Health of New England, would pull out of the Springfield market.
But the dire financial picture became sharper for Ramos and other state lawmakers who met for two hours Monday morning with Peter Banko, president and CEO of Baystate ahead of a community forum Tuesday.
State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez said the risk of closing should not be a surprise. “If the financing is not there. If the revenue is not there, any business could potentially look at doing that,” Gonzalez said.
Neither Baystate nor Mercy responded to specific questions from The Republican Monday about the briefing the lawmakers received, referring instead to an online frequently asked questions post.
The general public can learn more about what lies ahead for the health care institutions this week. Baystate will host a community forum from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Tuesday at the South End Community Center, at 99 Marble St. in Springfield.
After Monday’s meeting, legislators said they were relieved and hopeful. There was talk of state money needed to address maintenance concerns at the Mercy campus.
“The goal that we’ve had is to have two hospitals operating in the city of Springfield,” said state Sen. Jacob Oliveira, D-Ludlow.
Mercy and Baystate note that the deal needs regulatory approval, one task the lawmakers said they could help with. It is expected to be final around Nov. 1.
According to lawmakers interviewed after the meeting, Banko reaffirmed plans to use Mercy Medical’s campus and will retain or even expand employment and hospital services.
Gonzalez, D-Springfield, said Baystate plans to keep Mercy’s emergency room open and fully operational, as The Republican reported last week.
Plans to build a 90,000-square-foot comprehensive community health center on 10 acres of land donated by MassMutual are still alive, the lawmakers were told.
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Oliviera said nurses at Mercy will continue to be members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association Union. The MNA represents 450 Mercy employees, as well as nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield and Baystate Noble in Westfield, but not at the flagship Baystate Medical Center.
For months, Oliveira said he heard from constituents complaining that their Mercy Medical primary care appointments had been moved to Trinity-owned offices in Connecticut. He’d like those services restored on this side of the state line.
Lawmakers also advocated for childbirth facilities. When Trinity halted maternity and newborn services at Mercy Medical Center’s Family Life Center in December 2025 it said the move was temporary.
The move caused a spike in business at Baystate’s maternity ward. Baystate hospital is the only birth center left in the Lower Pioneer Valley, with Holyoke Medical Center, Baystate Noble in Westfield and Baystate Wing in Palmer no longer delivering babies.
“When Baystate is the only name in the game, it places an extra strain on an already-stressed system,” Oliveira said.
Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton and Baystate Franklin Medical Center have maternity services.
To prepare for the takeover, Baystate and Mercy had been talking for more than a year.
Both hospitals serve people who rely heavily on government health care like Medicare and Medicaid, which providers say don’t pay enough to meet the cost of treatment.
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Mercy gets nearly 80% of its patient revenue from public payers like Medicare and Medicaid, according to the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis data from 2023.
Baystate Medical Center is in only slightly better shape, receiving 73%. of its patient revenue from those agencies.
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Baystate is the largest employer in the region, with a headcount of 13,000.
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