Leave Labor in Leominster

09/24/2025

2 years 🖤💔

It's been two years since Clinton Hospital's maternity unit closed. The fallout of the closure paints a complicated picture in a state without maternity care deserts. But experts and advocates say recent losses and impending cuts to Medicaid make maternal health care access in Massachusetts somethin...

01/26/2024

We are so glad everything worked out in the end Lindsey and Nicholas, but sorry you had to go through so much to get there. So thankful for you sharing your story publicly so some of what’s been going on is revealed to all. Congratulations on your sweet baby girl 💖 👣

Hotel delivery.

10/20/2023

Updated info on listening sessions‼️You can still make your voice heard regarding women’s health services in the North Central Mass. 💙💕👣

10/19/2023

Update regarding listening sessions regarding essential services closures.

Will try to post these as shareable events shortly.

10/13/2023

Keep fighting with us 💪🏻 ‼️

10/07/2023

“Pump-kin” popped up in one of our nurse’s FB memories. 🎃🧡

So sad we can’t meet all the October babies due (and the late September ones!). Feel free to post your fall babies here. Happy October! 🎃🧡

09/26/2023

‼️If you are interested in discussing your feelings about the Governor’s lack of intervening to stop the closure of our beloved Birthing Center you can call or text TODAY- Tuesday September 26th- at NOON! See below for more information!

Listeners can hear "Ask the Governor" and "Ask the AG" on 89.7 FM in Greater Boston or at www.gbhnews.org from anywhere and are welcome to call or text 877-301-8970, email bpr@wgbh.org or tweet to be part of the conversation. In addition, these broadcasts frequently stream live on the GBH News YouTube Channel.

09/25/2023

On Sunday, as we closed the unit, we held a benediction, closing of the lights ceremony, and played the lullaby hospital-wide. Then we gathered our belongings, punched out and left our beloved unit for the the very last time. 🕯

The benediction was spoken and written by Holly Ann Perko. 🕊 🙏🏼 We have included it below along with pictures of staff, past and present, who came during the many “lasts” all week long. 💔

🕯🙏🏼

Dear Lord,

It is an honor for me to be here praying in these solemn halls through tears and a broken heart, here I stand. It has been an honor to be a nurse alongside my wonderful coworkers caring for my neighbors, the mothers and babies here in Leominster.

We pray for this sad day, for an end we do not believe should be here. We pray for the safety of mothers and babies in our community, in our absence, may they be safe and cared for. We pray for the EMTs, ER staff, transport drivers, and family members that will feel our absence — give them wisdom and peace.

We thank you for all the lives that started here over this last century. I think of my husband who started his life here over 41 years ago. For my coworkers born here that later had their own babies here…. Lord, bless all of our babies, for those that took their first breaths within these walls. For all the lives that were saved through our experienced hands. For the little ones we rocked to sleep, for the mothers and fathers we instructed, encouraged and guided, for all the firsts that started here.… Now our last day…..

Lord, comfort the caregivers, my co-workers. Thank you for the opportunity we have had to serve this vulnerable community. May we take with us not only clinical skills, but strong voices to continue to stand up and stand out for what we believe in, to make changes we believe are in the best interest for our people. Give us healing hands and wisdom beyond our years as we go from here to do other jobs, bless us.

Thank you that we have had the opportunity to fight, to speak out, hold up signs, come together in gatherings and stand up for what we continue to believe in. Thank you for Amy and Tara who have inspired me and so many others with their tenacity and bravery.

May we not walk away defeated, but as warriors that will continue to advocate for our patients and communities the way nurses, surgical techs, midwives, and doctors should.

We pray for the management and our state legislators. Thank you for all those that showed up and fought for us. Lord, for those who chose to not see our necessity in this community, we pray for them as well. May we not wish ill on anyone, but we pray for them to have soft hearts to see truth over fortune and may they find ways to protect our vulnerable community members in the future.

And moving forward, for whoever will fill these walls, the patients that will be cared for in the future, we pray for them too, Lord. May healing, nurturing, and care continue to rein within these rooms and halls. We pray for our Central MA community, that you would bless us.

Now, a benediction — may we go forth into this world and follow the Lord’s calling on our lives walking in peace. We have been called for such a time as this.

In Christ’s name we pray, Amen

09/24/2023

As you are all well aware, The Birthing Center is now closed. Leominster Hospital no longer has Obstetricians or Pediatricians in-house or on-call. Nurses with hundreds of years of experience combined have had to find new paths in their careers, most not within the hospital, some having to retire earlier than expected. Heartbreaking to all those involved for sure, but this fight was NEVER about our jobs. This fight has been (and will continue to be) about our patients and our community.

Everyone reading this has some attachment to Leominster Hospital’s Birthing Center. Whether you, your children or grandchildren, or a friend, everyone knows someone born there. Thousands upon thousands of babies have come into the world within those walls and families have been created and grown. The community would not be what it is without The Birthing Center for all these years.

I created this page pretty early on into this fight to keep everyone informed about what was going on and have a place where people could share their own stories. Over the last 90 days, the page has reached over 111,000 people through followers, comments, shares, etc. We were able to share media stories, share our plans, distribute lawn signs and tshirts, hear amazing stories, and most importantly support each other.

I speak for all of my coworkers when I extend our sincerest gratitude to all of those who have been standing with us and behind us over the past four months. To the local elected officials who have been fighting SO hard for the community, we are in awe of how much time and effort you have put into this fight, as we know there are so many things going on in the world and will be forever grateful. To the media who has continued to show up and help us spread the truth- we are so thankful you heard us and believed in us. To our leaders at our nursing union- the MNA- who have dedicated so much of your attention to our “little unit” and helped organize so much of this fight, you’ve really opened our eyes to how much really goes on behind the scenes. To anyone that spoke at the hearing, emailed and/or called UMASS and/or The Governor, shared your story here for us to use, stood at any of the rallies or standouts, shared our story- THANK YOU. This has truly been a historical fight and it would not have been such without each and every one of you.

To Amy- my “partner in crime.” I am so proud of how far we have come over the past four months. I’m so honored to have worked with you and stood next to you through so much of this. We always spoke the TRUTH and advocated for our patients, as all healthcare professionals should. You are a rockstar.

To Jessica- you have been a TREMENDOUS part of this page. You have been so great at keeping everyone informed of events and spent countless hours delivering lawn signs all over Central MA. You are so appreciated.

To Miko- your willingness to attend all of the events, organize the standouts, and be a support for all the nurses being affected has been truly amazing. Your passion for the hospital and the community are so commendable.

To all my other coworkers- you are all amazing and I look forward to keeping in-touch and hearing about your future endeavors. We have all deserved so much better than what the past four months have given us. It can only go up from here.

To Eladia and Irene- for going above and beyond to co-chair Community United to Save OUR Birthing Center. You two have gone above and beyond and it has been such a privilege working alongside you both.

To the future moms and babies of our community- my sincerest well wishes to you for healthy pregnancies and safe deliveries.

Healthcare needs to change. This CANNOT keep happening. I plan to spend the rest of my career advocating for a change and working to change the legislation alongside some amazing people I have met throughout this journey. I am leaving this page up as a resource for everyone to stay updated on that fight. Amy and I testified at The State House in June for some of that legislation, and hoping to hear that it will move forward. Labor should have been left in Leominster, but the wrong people have control, and we all need to keep working together to change that.

I’ve loved working at The Birthing Center and I don’t regret any of it. I can only hope for a better future for our community, our families, and healthcare in general.

With sincere gratitude and love,
Tara

💖💙👣

09/22/2023

‼️We would like to address some concerns regarding last night’s vigil:

The vigil that was held last night was organized by the Legislative Delegation and concerned members of the community who wanted to show their support for the Birthing Center and to urge the Governor to act to save this service and was not organized by any of the staff.

We were there to once again demonstrate our concern for the community and to share our grief for the potential loss of this essential service.

The display showing tomb stones was brought by a community member to the event on her own accord. We would never want to offend anyone as a result of our efforts to advocate for this service, our beloved patients or our community and we regret any pain or hard feelings this inadvertent, unplanned situation may have caused.

Our goal has always been to care for and uplift this, our community, one we have served with pride and dignity and the utmost professionalism for years, and never more so than in the last few months where we have fought with all our might to protect this service from the true culprit on this issue, which is UMass Memorial Health in their effort to strip this service from the most vulnerable in this community.