PROVIDENCE — If the struggling Landmark Medical Center were to close its doors, it would have a devastating effect on Woonsocket and much of Northern Rhode Island, hospital supporters testified last night.

The critically ill would see their lives at risk and 1,055 jobs would be lost.

Despite that panic, Landmark executives faced a grilling last night from lawmakers, who questioned why they let the hospital’s finances deteriorate so perilously before seeking help.

The last-minute hearing on Smith Hill came just days after the hospital announced that it is on the edge of financial collapse and will close by the end of the year unless someone buys it. Landmark is currently negotiating with Pawtucket’s Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, but a complex state law would prevent such a merger without months of scrutiny.

Late last week, Woonsocket legislators filed bills that would exempt Landmark from following the lengthy merger procedure known as the Hospital Conversions Act, instead allowing a quicker and less-rigorous process.

But members of the House Corporations Committee last night expressed a slew of concerns in a hearing that lasted several hours: What kinds of steps has the hospital taken to improve its financial situation and what’s to say a merger would help it recover $7.2 million in debt? In a word, would receivership be a better option?

Officials for the Woonsocket hospital, including chief executive officer Gary Gaube and his spokesman, called the merger plan the most viable option for keeping the struggling hospital alive. Receivership wouldn’t save the facility, it would simply provide a safety net on the way down, they said.

Woonsocket resident Bob Scott says without the state’s third-busiest emergency room, he might not be alive today. Late one night a decade ago, Scott suffered a massive heart attack and was rushed to Landmark, where he was resuscitated.

Had he been forced to travel the 15 miles to Rhode Island Hospital, or the 20-something miles to Memorial, his outcome might not have been so positive, he said.

And it’s not just the gravely ill. The elderly and those who don’t have easy access to transportation might simply skip medical care if they’re forced to travel many miles, said Rep. Jon D. Brien, D-Woonsocket.

But those who oppose granting Landmark the exemption said such fears were not an excuse for allowing a muddled deal to go through. Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said in a letter to the committee that he’d rather see an accelerated review process than a bypass. Others questioned the so-called secrecy that has shrouded the Landmark-Memorial agreement so far, saying Landmark owes it to its patients and to the community to make the process transparent.

Memorial officials have acknowledged an interest in possibly purchasing Landmark, but were not on hand for yesterday’s hearing.

The greatest obstacle at this point might be time. No vote was taken in the committee last night. With the Assembly planning to adjourn on Friday, that leaves just three days to push the legislation forward.

Chairman Brian Patrick Kennedy said if the bill is going anywhere, lawmakers need more information from the hospital, including a better rundown of its finances and details of its merger plan. The bill would also need help from key lawmakers.

“To sell this to the leadership, I think they really need to be involved,” Kennedy said.

cneedham@projo.com