A team of concerned citizens, officeholders, the region’s town officials and first responders gathered at the Massachusetts State House to testify on pending legislation to give the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance the authority to take Norwood Hospital by eminent domain. (Photo Courtesy Town of Norwood)
NORWOOD — Concerned citizens from Norwood and surrounding communities packed a Boston-bound bus last Thursday afternoon. They held onto signs of support, optimism and faith in the legislative process.
They were just a small contingent of die-hard Norwood Hospital supporters set to rendezvous with first responders and elected officials on Beacon Hill, to offer testimony on a bill calling for the eminent domain-taking of the land underneath the closed and partially constructed Norwood Hospital.
The Bill
In January, Norwood state Rep. John H. Rogers, Norwood state Sen. Michael F. Rush and other local leaders quickly turned a local petition into legislation. The measure began as H.D. 5528 and then, after clearing with The House Rules Committee, it was formally renumbered as House Bill 5047.
“The people of the region of the Commonwealth once served by Norwood Hospital are now languishing in a medical desert,” Rep. Rogers testified. “The Norwood Hospital closed almost six years ago because of a 500-year catastrophic flood. That flood destroyed a vibrant regional hospital.”
H.5047 is a local, land-taking bill that would let the state seize the land underneath the former Norwood Hospital site by eminent domain, on an emergency basis, to protect public health.
In other words, to protect and improve public access to health care, the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) must take ownership of the Norwood Hospital property using eminent domain so it can be rebuilt and protected as a health care facility.
Eminent domain means the government can take private land for public use, provided it follows legal procedures and provides compensation to the owner. The ultimate goal is to bring in a new operator for the site, either through an agreement with the current landlord or by having the state facilitate a sale to a new operator.
“We, on behalf of the people of Massachusetts, can and should exercise powers embedded within our Constitution, take the property by eminent domain whenever the public exigencies require,” said Rep. Rogers. “Mr. Chairman, that time is now.”
The Hearing
On Feb. 12, a team of concerned citizens, officeholders, the region’s town officials and first responders gathered at the Massachusetts State House to testify on the pending legislation. In a bid to “Finish Norwood Hospital,” representatives from Norwood, Sharon, Wrentham, Walpole and other surrounding towns attended the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight hearing to discuss Bill H.5047.
“This bill empowers the Commonwealth to take a proactive, strategic role in planning for regional health care infrastructure, rather than leaving these decisions solely to private market forces,” said Rep. Rogers. “The emergency preamble reflects the urgency of this public health need and ensures the bill can take effect immediately to prevent further delays in access to care and avoidable loss of life.”
Watch the public hearing from Feb. 12 here (starting around minute 21).
“You’ve heard about emergency departments being overloaded and ambulance times having doubled or tripled,” said Norwood General Manager Tony Mazzucco. “I want to speak for a moment about critical care times. Particularly if you were to have a heart attack in Norwood — or Walpole, or Wrentham, or Sharon, or Canton, or Dedham, or Foxborough, or Mansfield — you are 40 minutes from getting the appropriate care.”
Norwood Hospital had a cardiac catheterization lab, an essential amenity for a patient suffering a heart attack.
“Eight miles from the greatest medical center in the world, we are 40 minutes if you have a heart attack in any of these communities — residents, visitors or anyone just passing through,” Mazzucco told the Joint Committee. “The best hospitals in the world do not matter if patients can’t reach them.”
To submit additional written testimony, click here and follow the instructions.
The Background
In 2025, aiming to reopen the formerly profitable regional medical facility, the Town of Norwood launched the Finish Norwood Hospital campaign.
Norwood Hospital was evacuated during flooding in June 2020 and never reopened.
Norwood Hospital had been operating as an acute care facility with 130-plus beds and an emergency room with a catheterization lab. By census population, the catchment area includes 12 towns and 250,000 residents.
In 2019, Norwood Hospital had served 126,000 patients during its last full year of operation. The hospital turned an $11.2 million profit in 2018 and a $25 million profit in 2019. That same year, 42,705 people visited Norwood Hospital’s emergency room.
The cascading effect of transports to other hospitals is impacting towns outside of the catchment area, creating devastating regional impacts for emergency medical services.
At the direction of Gov. Maura Healey, Mazzucco has been leading the task force in a review of the health care needs of the communities previously served by Norwood Hospital, which was closed by Steward Health Care after the 2020 flood.
The Finish Norwood Hospital Task Force includes regional health care providers, public health officials, labor leaders, emergency service providers, community and business leaders, and elected and local government officials.
Task force members, including President of the Massachusetts Building and Trades Union Frank Callahan, former Massachusetts Nurses Association Executive Director Julie Pinkham, and Rep. Rogers, have been lobbying for support to reopen Norwood Hospital.
As part of the Finish Norwood Hospital campaign, the Town of Norwood has also launched a website dedicated to the campaign: FinishtheJobNorwood.com.
On the website, visitors can access information about the working group, view the history of Norwood Hospital, review a timeline of the closure, and get involved in advocacy efforts by signing letters to state officials.
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Norwood Hospital supporters held signs during the hearing. (Photo Courtesy Town of Norwood)
Local first responders attended the hearing, some holding signs indicating strong union support for reopening Norwood Hospital. (Photo Courtesy Town of Norwood)
Bank of Canton CEO Stephen Costello, a member of the task force, rode on a bus packed with residents from across the region once served by Norwood Hospital Thursday to offer testimony and support for House Bill 5047. (Photo Courtesy Town of Norwood)
First responders from Norwood, Wrentham and Walpole were among the police officers and firefighters showing support for the eminent domain taking of the land underneath Norwood Hospital. (Photo Courtesy Town of Norwood)
The State House hearing room was at standing-room only capacity on Thursday, Feb. 12. (Photo Courtesy Town of Norwood)
Local legislators, elected officials, healthcare representatives and Finish Norwood Hospital Task Force members attended the hearing. (Photo Courtesy Town of Norwood)
Norwood General Manager Tony Mazzucco and the Finish Norwood Hospital Task Force toured the construction site and spoke to the media on Friday, April 18, 2025. (Photo Courtesy Town of Norwood)
The Finish Norwood Hospital Task Force toured the construction site on Friday, April 18, 2025. An empty shell has been erected but awaits a new operator. (Photo Courtesy Town of Norwood)
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