Rallies planned at Steward hospitals in Taunton, Brockton, Methuen, Haverhill, Fall River, Dorchester, Brighton

Michael P. Norton

Fearing hospital closures and service reductions, a coalition plans standouts over the next week at Steward Health Care hospitals in Massachusetts and is calling on elected officials to help secure new hospital owners, saying “failure is not an option.”

Rallies are planned outside Steward hospitals in Taunton, Brockton, Methuen, Haverhill, Fall River, Dorchester and Brighton.

The Our Community | Our Hospital coalition is also promoting an petition calling for the transition of Steward hospitals to new nonprofit ownership and a commitment to ensure the continuation of care services for 200,000 people in Steward zones.

“The loss of any of these facilities will deliver a devastating blow to the entire health care infrastructure in the Commonwealth, particularly to some of the most vulnerable and marginalized patients and families,” the petition says. “Patients will be subjected to dangerous delays in care, be forced to travel longer distances for care, and for many, to go without care altogether.”

The coalition says it includes labor, community and faith-based groups, but a complete list of member groups was not immediately available. The Massachusetts Nurses Association has been involved with outreach and the union 1199 SEIU is also listed as a contact on the coalition’s website.

State officials have sharply criticized Steward’s management and say they are working behind the scenes on contingency plans to safeguard health care. But the coalition, citing an April 30 Steward loan agreement deadline, says that “communities remain in the dark on long-term solutions to protect the future of care across the Commonwealth.”

The coalition plans a 3:45 p.m. Morton Hospital community rally Tuesday at the Taunton Green; rallies Wednesday in Brockton, Haverhill and Methuen; Fall River and Dorchester rallies Thursday; and a 3 p.m. rally in front of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton on Monday, April 29.