DEVENS – Health care workers and staff from Nashoba Valley Medical Center attended a meeting Thursday where they called on Massachusetts to do something to keep the hospital from closing.

Calling on state to keep hospital open

On August 31, Nashoba Valley will close, along with Carney Hospital in Dorchester. It’s a day that comes earlier than expected, and a day that feels inevitable for caregivers and local lawmakers who are trying to stop it.

“The Department of Public Health does not have the ability, nor the authority, to prevent or deny closure of this hospital,” said Massachusetts Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein while speaking at a meeting Thursday night with hospital workers and legislators.

For those who work at the hospital, it is starting to feel like a blame game. They are stuck in between Steward Health Care going under, and legislation hamstrung from doing anything.

“I don’t know how Governor Healey sees that, ‘Oh, it’ll be great if I close two, maybe three, hospitals,’” said Audra Sprague, a 17-year nurse at Nashoba Valley. On July 26, she learned that the hospital would close at the end of August. “By law you’re supposed to get 120 days, and that gives time for everything to be put into place,” said Sprague.

Concerns of health care desert

Sprague was at the meeting Thursday between city leaders, caregivers, and the DPH. Everyone is begging for someone to step in.

“That’s 2,000 people in this community that share one thing in common. On September 1, they’re going to be at an unacceptable, higher risk of a worse health outcome,” said Sen. John Cronin at the meeting.

A closure of this magnitude stands to cause mass disruption. The Ayer fire chief said EMS rides will go from 2.4 miles to 11-16 miles.

“It will create a public health care desert ,” said Jonathan Heimberg, a Lunenberg resident who has received care at the hospital.

Beth Reposa worked at NVMC for 50 years, but retired when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. She told the crowd at the meeting, “I always thought my hospital would be there for me when I need it.”

“She has no where. This was her hospital that was going to care for her,” said Sprague.

The workers and local lawmakers are calling on Gov. Maura Healey to step in to declare a health state of emergency for more funding. As it stands, the workers don’t even know if they will be given severance.

“They don’t know if they’re going to have money to then go to the next job, or bridge the gap to retirement,” said Marlishia Aho with the Union 1199SEIU.

In a press release, Healey said she is insisting on worker severance in their negotiations. The MassHire Rapid Response team will also be hosting job fairs.

A Haitian man in the U.S. illegally was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for allegedly raping a pregnant woman at a Massachusetts migrant hotel.

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston apprehended 34-year-old Marc Kervens Beauvais Aug. 13 in the city of Peabody, north of Boston, nearly two weeks after he was arrested on charges of aggravated rape, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a pregnant victim and attempt to commit a crime.

According to multiple law enforcement sources, the rape happened inside a migrant hotel.

Beauvais was arrested by the Peabody Police Department July 31 for the offenses and was arraigned Aug. 1 in Peabody District Court.

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While he was in custody, ERO Boston sought an immigration detainer against Beauvais.

During a court hearing Tuesday, Beauvais was released on his own recognizance by a judge, but ICE had officers in the courtroom immediately arrest him.

“Marc Kervens Beauvais is charged with committing unspeakable acts against a pregnant woman in Massachusetts,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons said. “We simply cannot allow anyone that poses such a threat to prey upon the residents of our communities. 

“ERO Boston will continue our mission of prioritizing public safety by aggressively apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from New England.”

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ICE arrested a Haitian man in the U.S. illegally after he allegedly raped a pregnant woman in Massachusetts. (ICE)

ICE says Beauvais was arrested by Border Patrol June 26, 2021, near Del Rio, Texas, after he crossed into the U.S. illegally. He was then released into the U.S. with a notice to report for processing.

The arrest comes the same week ICE located and arrested another Haitian immigrant, 26-year-old Cory B. Alvarez, after he had been released on $500 bond in June despite facing charges of raping a child at a different Massachusetts migrant hotel in March.

ICE had issued a detainer on Alvarez, but the local sheriff’s office ignored it and released the 26-year-old on low bail. A detainer is a request by which authorities alert ICE about an individual it believes to be subject to deportation so it can take the individual into federal custody and deport that person.

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Cory Alvarez, who allegedly raped a teenage girl at a migrant motel south of Boston, is arrested by Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston in Brockton, Mass., Tuesday. (ICE)

Alvarez was arrested in a so-called sanctuary city, and the detainer was ignored.

ICE officers found Alvarez Tuesday in Brockton, Massachusetts, law enforcement sources told Fox News Digital.

Alvarez arrived in June 2023 under the parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV). The policy was first announced for Venezuelans in October 2022, which allowed a limited number to fly directly into the U.S. as long as they had not entered illegally, had a sponsor in the U.S. already and passed certain checks.

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Alvarez’s charges relate to a March incident in which he was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl while staying at a migrant hotel in Massachusetts. A lawyer representing him says he is innocent of the charges.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

A salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers has made people sick in more than 30 states, including nearly a dozen people in Massachusetts.

The CDC and FDA announced Wednesday that two salmonella outbreaks linked to cucumbers earlier this year are now being investigated as one outbreak.

The agencies are continuing to collect data about these outbreaks, which they say are of two different types of salmonella.

“CDC and FDA combined these two outbreak investigations as they shared several similarities, including where and when illnesses occurred, the demographics of ill people and the foods they reported eating before they became sick,” the agencies said.

Where is the salmonella outbreak?

The salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers has affected more than 30 states, including Massachusetts.

CDC data shows 11 people in Massachusetts got sick from the outbreak between March and July, but that number is likely higher as many people with salmonella recover without going to a doctor.

What is causing the salmonella outbreak?

Since first declaring the two salmonella outbreaks in June, the CDC and FDA have investigated the cause and linked it back to cucumbers.

The agencies said data has determined that cucumbers from two growers in Florida — Bedner Growers, Inc. and Thomas Produce Company — were likely the sources of the outbreak.

Products from these farms are no longer on the market, so there is likely no ongoing risk to the public, the CDC and FDA said.

However, the agencies said these growers do not account for all the illnesses in this outbreak, which is why consumers should still be aware.

How to protect yourself from salmonella

The CDC recommends practicing food safety steps to prevent getting sick from salmonella, including washing your hands and surfaces, rinsing fruit and vegetables under running water before eating and keeping raw food away from cooked food.

The agency also recommends using a food thermometer to ensure foods have been cooked to a high enough temperature to kill germs. Perishable food should also be refrigerated within two hours.