SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - A major healthcare change in Vermont could soon affect families right here in Massachusetts.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Vermont delivers over 200 babies a year, but hospital leaders say it’s no longer financially sustainable. They’re projecting nearly $5 million in losses this fiscal year alone.

“We already have patients that drive an hour to get to us so to add on, even an extra 30 minutes could be life or death for some people,” said nurse Emily Martyn. “I am really worried about that.”

The hospital blames low reimbursement rates for women’s health services and says it plans to close its birthing center within the next six to nine months.

Families in the Brattleboro area and nearby New Hampshire towns will need to find another option. The nearest hospital to Brattleboro is Baystate Franklin in Greenfield.

A registered nurse in Greenfield said staffing and capacity are already a concern across healthcare and that any shift in where patients are able to deliver puts more pressure on nurses and resources.

“At franklin I think that like many hospitals organizations right now we’re facing short staffing, we are often trying to staff our unit and working overtime and getting called in to pick up shifts,” she said. “I think we give great care at Baystate franklin, but I think there’s limitations when we have a short, staffed unit.”

Western Mass News has reached out to Baystate for comment and has yet to hear back.

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