A Coalition of Concerned Residents and Advocates from North Adams will Hold an Emergency Community Meeting Tonight to Plan Next Steps in an Effort to Save North Adams Regional Hospital, VNA & Hospice Services

When: Tonight from 5-7 p.m.

Where: American Legion Hall, 91 American Legion Drive, North Adams

News provided by

Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United

Mar 26, 2014, 01:58 ET

NORTH ADAMS, Mass., March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United:

The proposed closing of North Adams Regional Hospital, VNA and Hospice is NOT a foregone conclusion. This is our community. This is our hospital. These are our health services. While the Board of Trustees of Northern Berkshire Health has chosen to walk away from our hospital, we have not. We must take all necessary steps to prevent this closure and save our hospital.

A growing coalition of community members, health care workers, and elected officials are meeting tonight to discuss immediate steps we can all take together to save our hospital.

In the meantime, residents are being urged to call Governor Deval Patrick today at 617-725-4005, and tell him that the closing of these services represents a disaster for our community. We are urging the governor to come out to North Adams and to take all necessary emergency actions to prevent the closure of our community hospital.

You can also follow all news about this campaign on a special Facebook group page that at

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Northern-Berkshire-Healthcare-Hospital/205662529643802?ref=ts&fref=ts

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest professional health care organization and the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 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. The MNA is a founding member of National Nurses United, the largest national nurses union in the United States with more than 170,000 members from coast to coast.

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SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United