Lawrence General Hospital and Holy Family Hospital are committed to providing accessible, high-quality emergency care and services that reflect the needs of its community. Holy Family Hospital’s Haverhill campus plays an important and vibrant role in that system of care.
Recently, Lawrence General Hospital and Holy Family Hospital submitted a request to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to allow the Haverhill campus to refocus its services on emergency care, behavioral health, and outpatient services. As part of this plan, the campus would no longer provide inpatient medical/surgical care.
This request includes a change in licensure for the emergency department, which would convert the campus’s Emergency Department into a Satellite Emergency Facility (SEF). The SEF would be located at the current Emergency Department site at 140 Lincoln Avenue, Haverhill, and continue offering comprehensive emergency services.
Holy Family Hospital Haverhill remains committed to the health and well-being of the community, ensuring that timely, high-quality emergency care stays close to home. Throughout this transition, we will continue working closely with local police, fire, EMS, and ambulance partners to provide a coordinated, effective emergency response for Haverhill and surrounding areas.
Community Meeting Regarding Establishment of a Satellite Emergency Facility by Holy Family Hospital Haverhill
Thank you for attending Holy Family Hospital’s public meeting on July 24, 2025, regarding plans by the hospital to establish a Satellite Emergency Facility at its Haverhill campus located at 140 Lincoln Ave., Haverhill, MA 01830.
Here are additional questions discussed during the meeting.
How do you plan to accommodate inpatients when there are already long wait times in the EDs?
It is important to note that only a small percentage of ED visits at Haverhill require an inpatient hospital stay.
Also, as you may have heard, the previous owners of Holy Family Hospital did not keep all facilities in good repair, and some areas of the Holy Family Hospitals are not currently in operation as a result. We are making some needed repairs to inpatient spaces at our Methuen campus and have plans to reopen more of our licensed inpatient beds at that campus around October 1.
Do you plan to open more behavioral health space?
Behavioral health is a critically needed service in the community. Inpatient adult and geriatric behavioral health beds will remain at our Haverhill campus. Our goal is to hire the staff necessary to open all behavioral beds currently on our license, but we do not have plans to increase the number of licensed beds at this time.
In addition, we are exploring other health care services that meet community needs to occupy available space in the hospital building in Haverhill.
If I’m having a heart attack or stroke, or suffer a severe injury, and no surgery will be performed at Haverhill, why would I be taken to Haverhill’s ER?
First, always call 911 if you suspect that you are having symptoms of a heart attack or stroke or suffer a severe injury. That call is answered by an ambulance from your local town and established protocols are followed (including coordination with local Emergency Departments) depending on your specific situation to ensure you get the appropriate emergency care at the appropriate location. For many conditions, like heart attack and stroke, the most important thing is the time to the initial evaluation by the physician and initial tests, such as an electrocardiogram and CT scan. Those evaluations happen at Haverhill. If you need care by a specialty service like the cardiac cath lab at Lawrence General, you will be transported directly to that service.
If I need transportation to get home to Haverhill from Methuen or Lawrence, will you help?
Yes. As happens today, patients are provided with the services to get them where they need to get to safely.
Where would elective surgery, like a hip replacement surgery, be performed?
It depends on where your physician refers you and where they perform procedures. Many specialists, like orthopedic surgeons, in our community already have privileges at all of our hospitals. We are integrating our medical staff across the system so that all physicians can work at Holy Family Methuen or Lawrence General Hospital.
Is there a long-term plan to make additional investments in Holy Family’s Haverhill campus?
We are investing in Haverhill and are continuously evaluating the needs of the community. This includes exploring other health care services that meet community needs to occupy available space in the building. We are a community hospital system, and we are here to provide for the health care that the community needs. As the health care needs of Haverhill and our other communities change, we’ll adapt.
As part of our continued effort to strengthen care across the Merrimack Valley and build a more unified, mission-driven regional health care system, Lawrence General Hospital and Holy Family Hospital are proposing changes at Holy Family Hospital’s Haverhill campus.
- The Haverhill campus is not closing.
- 24/7 emergency services will continue without interruption.
The Haverhill campus is a vital part of our regional care system; focused on meeting the needs of patients throughout the Merrimack Valley.
To better align services with community needs and make the best use of shared resources across our hospitals, Lawrence General/Holy Family Hospitals have submitted a request to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. If approved, the request would allow the Haverhill campus to focus on emergency care, behavioral health, and outpatient services, and discontinue inpatient medical/surgical care.
Currently, the Haverhill campus averages nine inpatients a day on its general medical/surgical units. These patients can continue to receive safe, high-quality care at our Methuen and Lawrence campuses.
Refocusing services will allow us to direct more resources toward areas of greatest need, including emergency care, inpatient behavioral health, and outpatient and ancillary services.
We will continue to provide inpatient adult and geriatric behavioral health services in Haverhill. We are also investing in specialized services on campus, including our hyperbaric medicine and wound care program, which recently added two new hyperbaric chambers, and the development of a comprehensive sleep medicine center.
This request will go through a public review process. If approved, the changes would take effect on Oct. 1, 2025.
As we plan for the future, we follow three guiding principles:
- Do our plans meet the current needs of patients and the community?
- Do they support the clinicians who provide that care?
- Are we delivering care effectively and efficiently?
The proposed changes at Holy Family Hospital Haverhill are guided by these principles and informed by the work of the Eastern Merrimack Valley Workgroup, a task force formed in October 2024 after Lawrence General Hospital and Holy Family Hospital came together. Led by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the group included state and local leaders and was charged with identifying opportunities to strengthen access to high-quality, sustainable health care in the region. Their insight has played a key role in shaping our integration efforts.
This proposal builds on progress already made, such as unifying our system under one electronic medical record, improving care coordination and continuity.
We will continue to offer inpatient adult and geriatric behavioral health services at the Haverhill campus. We’re also investing in specialized services, including our hyperbaric medicine and wound care program, which recently added two new hyperbaric chambers, and advancing the development of a comprehensive sleep medicine center.
In addition, outpatient radiology services at the Haverhill campus will continue.
Full 24/7 emergency care will remain at Holy Family Hospital Haverhill.
We see our Haverhill campus as a vital part of a regional system of care for the Merrimack Valley. Our plans are designed to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our patients, that the skilled and compassionate clinicians that deliver that care are supported, and that care continues to be provided effectively, efficiently.
As part of the proposed transition of general medical/surgical inpatient services to Holy Family Hospital Methuen and Lawrence General Hospital, we are required to update the licensure of the Haverhill Emergency Department to a Satellite Emergency Facility (SEF).
(See: “What are the proposed plans for Holy Family Hospital Haverhill?” and “What is a Satellite Emergency Facility (SEF)?” FAQs.)
This is a technical licensure change. All services currently provided by the Emergency Department will continue including the accepting ambulances, lab and radiology services, and the ability to treat both adult and pediatric patients. The SEF will be located in the same space as the current Emergency Department at 140 Lincoln Avenue, with no interruption in services.
We will continue to coordinate inpatient transfers to Methuen, Lawrence, or other tertiary care providers when needed; and will support patients and families needing transportation to our other campuses.
This request must go through a public review process. If approved, the changes would take effect on Oct. 1, 2025
What is a Satellite Emergency Facility (SEF) FAQs
- The inpatient medical/surgical unit at Holy Family Hospital Haverhill will be phased out due to low utilization (an average of 8-10 patients daily). Inpatient care will be provided at our Methuen and Lawrence campuses.
- As required by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the emergency department at Holy Family Hospital Haverhill must then be relicensed as a Satellite Emergency Facility. There will be no changes in the emergency services provided.
A SEF is a facility that is not attached to a full-service hospital or medical facility. It is equipped to handle all the same emergency needs as an emergency department. Key facts:
- A Satellite Emergency Facility (SEF) operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- It accepts ambulances and walk-in patients.
- Provides diagnostic lab and imaging services.
- Staffed by trained emergency medicine professionals.
- Complies with all federal emergency care regulations, including EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act).
Yes.
The SEF will be located at 140 Lincoln Ave, Haverhill, MA, 01830, in the same exact location that the Holy Family Hospital Haverhill Emergency Department is today.
- The SEF will offer the same emergency care currently provided at Holy Family Hospital’s Haverhill emergency department for serious injuries and illnesses.
- It will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and staffed by doctors, nurses, and other experienced clinicians.
- The SEF will also have the same equipment and resources as a traditional emergency department.
- If you need to be admitted to the hospital, the SEF will arrange your transfer to the location that best meets your needs, including Holy Family Hospital Methuen, Lawrence General Hospital, or a tertiary provider.
We will follow existing billing processes for patient transfers. There will be no charge for transfers to either of our other campuses in Methuen or Lawrence.
- The SEF will have the same lab and radiology services as a traditional emergency department.
- Additionally, outpatient radiology services will remain at the Haverhill campus.
Visit the SEF for life-threatening symptoms or injuries:
- Chest pain, shortness of breath, signs of stroke or heart attack or other urgent symptoms
- Accidents, sever cuts, broken bones, head injuries or high fevers
- Mental health crises
Call 911 for life-threatening emergencies.
The decision is based on established EMS protocols.
- 24/7 Emergency Care (SEF)
- Inpatient Adult & Geriatric Behavioral Health Services
- Outpatient Radiology
- Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine
- Coming Soon: Comprehensive Sleep Medicine Center
Yes, we continue to have adult inpatient behavioral health services at the Haverhill campus.
The request for these changes is under review by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. If approved, changes will not occur until Oct. 1, 2025.
Emergency Care vs. Urgent Care vs. Doctor’s Office – How do I know where to go?
You have options as to where to receive your care depending upon your needs.
If you are not experiencing life-threatening symptoms, call your primary care provider, obstetrician or pediatrician. They may offer advice, an appointment, or direct you where to go. They are best positioned to care for your chronic conditions, mild symptoms of cold, flu, allergies, questions about medications, and referrals to nonemergency specialty care.
- Trouble breathing
- Facial drooping or weakness in an arm or leg (signs of stroke)
- Chest pain or signs of a heart attack
- Severe bleeding
- Seizures
- Head trauma/head injury
- Sudden acute headache/dizziness
- Major broken bones
- Coughing or vomiting blood
- Sudden confusion, disorientation
- Severe abdominal pain
- Swallowed a foreign object
- Severe burns
- Poisoning or severe allergic reaction
- Cold, flu, allergies, sore throat
- Ear pain/headache
- Muscle or body aches
- Nausea/vomiting
- Upset stomach or diarrhea
- Minor cuts
- Pink Eye
- Urinary tract infection
- Minor Injuries like minor bone fracture, strained muscles, sprains
- Mild allergic reactions (rashes or itching)
- For minor injuries, x-rays and stitches
