Why go to Boston? Hospitals make pitch for patients to stay local

Under a new partnership that sets aside years of rivalry, a group of five community hospitals in the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts is launching a campaign to encourage residents to stay local for their medical care. The effort is called the "I-495 Partnership" after the interstate highway that links hospitals from Lowell to Newburyport. The five hospitals all invested cash in a Web site and marketing campaign.