NORTHAMPTON — A request by Cooley Dickinson Hospital to brighten its ambulance canopy lighting is being met with scrutiny by some residents who fear the change could lead to breast cancer and other complications.
Hospital officials, however, contend that the new lighting is a public safety necessity and would meet national medical standards for hospitals.
The two sides made their arguments before the Planning Board on March 26, which must decide whether to grant a site plan amendment providing the hospital a waiver from regulations established by a lighting ordinance approved by the City Council in early 2024.
Catherine Reed, executive director of operations at Cooley Dickinson, explained to the Planning Board that the lighting plan proposed is a necessity for patient safety that supersedes local zoning ordinances concerning light pollution.
Reed explained that since the light fixture is directly attached to the hospital, is not near any directly abutting properties or neighbors and is located in a medical zoning district, it is exempt from standard light zoning regulations.
“This lighting is essential for safe and effective patient care and has been designed to meet nationally recognized medical institute Illuminating Engineer Society standards,” Reed said. “The hospital operates in a medical zoning district where the ordinance does not specifically address ambulance canopy lighting. The zoning requirements for other zones simply do not apply and will not produce a safe enough lighting condition.”
Reed also cited Laura’s Law, approved by the state Legislature in 2021, which mandates a safe, clear, and well-illuminated wayfinding to an emergency department. The law is named after Somerville resident Laura Beth Levis, who died in 2016 from an asthma attack just steps from an emergency room door.
The Cooley Dickinson director claimed that the hospital had been cited by an inspector in 2024 for lacking sufficient lighting.
“Occupancy sensors are just not safe or reliable enough for this application,” Reed continued. “Mitigation measures already in place without compromising safety or invoking undue hospital liability are fixtures. This request is driven by the need to meet medical standards for emergency care. The lighting is essential for patient and staff safety.”
Several residents countered at the Planning Board meeting that the lighting has potential for nuisance and negative health effects in its surrounding neighborhood.
Retired reproductive health specialist at Tapestry Health, Jenny Fleming-Ives, whose career in health care spanned 33 years, urged the board against granting Cooley Dickinson the waiver. She claimed that artificial light exposure can lead to a number of health complications for women, including breast cancer.
“I follow closely ongoing research studies into the effects of artificial light at night on women’s health, particularly as it might impact breast cancer rates in women,” Fleming-Ives said. “Cooley Dickinson Hospital, a justly beloved community treasure, is about recovery, healing and prevention. I would urge you tonight not to grant this waiver and hold prevention to the highest standard.”
Other residents, including Smith College Astronomy professor James Lowenthal, also spoke to concerns that the increased lighting, although installed to keep patients and hospital employees safe, might, ironically, have a negative impact on their lives.
Lowenthal cited a study from Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, commonly known as “The Light Doctor,” which suggests that nocturnal exposures to artificial light, even briefly, can disrupt the body’s circadian rhythms, the body’s biological clock that controls the timing of sleep and wake.
“We all recognize the huge positive role that the hospital plays in our lives and our community. It’s ironic that this project seeks a waiver from a law that protects human health,” Lowenthal said. “Our law, which addresses this directly, provides commonsense protection against this problem. This represents the light that is currently in the canopy at the ER — it’s too blue, it’s too bright, and it’s poorly shielded.”
Others, such as Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra’s Chief of Staff Alan Wolf, commented in support of the waiver on Sciarra’s behalf, vouching for the lighting project’s service to patient safety.
Wolf, noting that he and his son were both born at Cooley Dickinson and that he has a “soft spot in his heart” for the hospital, explained that despite the mayor’s support for the city’s light pollution ordinances, she believes exceptions must be made for hospital entrances.
“[There] is, in fact, an exception for public safety lighting that is only used under emergency conditions by civil officers, agents and officials to perform their duties to maintain the public’s health, safety and welfare,” Wolf said. “The mayor urges the Planning Board to grant a waiver for this critical life safety use.”
Northampton Fire Chief Andy Pelis also supports the waiver, mentioning that the Fire Department receives roughly 7,000 calls for service each year, many of which involve a patient’s transport to the Cooley Dickinson Emergency Room.
Pelis explained that while his department sometimes lacks a “spotter,” or someone to assist with backing the ambulance into a spot, sufficient lighting in the ambulance bay is a “necessity.”
Planning Board Chair Janna White asked Reed whether the hospital had considered implementing any nuisance mitigation efforts, such as shielding excess light.
“We have given consideration and are trying to do a study on shielding, but we need time to do that. We have to just make sure there’s no issues with the existing ambulance canopy by attaching shielding to it,” Reed responded. “We believe that we’ve created the safest environment we can for both our patients and the medical personnel that work there.”
After a brief period of deliberation, the board voted to continue the issue until its next meeting on April 23, giving the applicant time to study light shielding.
