Goodbye, Mercy Medical. Hello, Baystate Mercy: 'New' hospital's 1st day is Sunday

Mercy Medical Center in Springfield is set to become Baystate Mercy Hospital this Sunday, ending years of negotiations that culminated after state approval for Baystate’s $297 million takeover announced in April. City leaders had feared out-of-state owner Trinity Health New England would close the struggling facility, which has 182 beds and an emergency department handling about 1,100 ambulance trips a month. Mercy logged 44,000 ER visits annually and posted a roughly $40 million loss in the most recent state data, with an operating margin of negative 12.2%. The transition follows the 2024 Steward Health Care shutdowns elsewhere in Massachusetts, cited as worsening ambulance response times. Baystate also plans to continue maternity care.