Troy community rallies to keep local birthing center open amid hospital’s closure plan
Residents of Troy, N.Y., together with bipartisan officials, stopped Trinity Health from shutting the city’s sole birthing center after a wide-scale community campaign.
Trinity Health, operator of Samaritan Hospital in Troy, N.Y., declared that its Burdett Birth Center was losing money and would be closed, forcing families to travel up to half an hour to Albany. The news triggered an immediate grassroots response led by YWCA director Starletta Washington, midwives, doulas and local politicians such as Republican Carmella Mantello and Democrat John T. McDonald III. Demonstrations, pink “Save Burdett” merchandise and a community survey exposing car-access problems built momentum, while the Catholic bishop and Planned Parenthood also voiced opposition.
State Attorney General Letitia James launched an investigation and convened a day-long hearing, and a bipartisan coalition secured $5 million in state funding. Under sustained pressure, Trinity Health withdrew its closure plan, preserving Troy’s only maternity unit.
Why it matters
It shows how local activism and bipartisan action can protect essential health services from corporate cuts.
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