Milford Regional Plans Merger With UMass Memorial System

MILFORD, MA — Milford Regional Medical Center may merge with the UMass Memorial Health, with Milford hospital officials citing difficulties remaining an independent entity without making cuts.

The two healthcare entities have signed a nonbinding letter of support for the merger, but the boards of each healthcare system must still approve the maneuver.

"Given the current healthcare landscape, it has become increasingly challenging for Milford Regional to maintain its status as an independent community hospital without considering significant programmatic changes. Also, the lasting impacts of the pandemic and sustained financial losses have inhibited its ability to act on necessary growth and expansion," Milford Regional said in a news release Wednesday.

The two healthcare systems have been partners since the early 1990s, when Milford Regional became a clinical affiliate of UMass Memorial.

The merger would come as UMass Memorial, which has a significant footprint in Worcester, is closing its labor and delivery ward in Leominster. The system has cited a staff shortage and low usage as reasons, but state and local officials are attempting to stop the closure because maternity patients would be forced to travel as far as Worcester, Concord or Gardner.

UMass Memorial is also locked in a legal battle with UMass Chan Medical School, the state medical school that's part of the UMass system. UMass Memorial sold its pharmaceutical operation in 2018, and UMass Chan claims the health system owes it a $40 million cut of that sale, according to reports.

Both hospitals have nurses who are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The Milford nurses voted to join that union in 2021.

Following the signing of a nonbinding agreement, Milford Regional and UMass Memorial will move ahead with due diligence related to a merger, according to a news release.