Troy Community and Bipartisan Leaders Thwart Hospital’s Plan to Shut Birthing Center
Residents of Troy, New York, joined forces across party lines to stop Trinity Health from closing the Burdett Birth Center, preserving local maternity care.
Trinity Health, operator of Samaritan Hospital in Troy, New York, declared the Burdett Birth Center financially unsustainable and planned its closure, which would have forced families to travel up to half an hour to Albany for deliveries. The news triggered an immediate, bipartisan outcry led by YWCA director Starletta Washington, Mayor Carmella Mantello, midwives, doulas and mothers. Demonstrations, a "Save Burdett" campaign, and a community survey highlighting limited transportation options amplified the response.
State Attorney General Letitia James opened an investigation, and Assemblymember John T. McDonald III collaborated with Republican officials to obtain $5 million in state aid. Under sustained community and political pressure, Trinity Health abandoned the closure plan, allowing the birthing center to remain operational. The case underscores growing local resistance to corporate hospital consolidations.
Why it matters
It shows how local and bipartisan action can preserve essential health services threatened by corporate decisions.
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