Patty Wight

1 week ago | mainepublic.org | Patty Wight

In May, Houlton Regional Hospital will close its obstetrics unit, leaving a huge swath of northern Maine without hospital-based labor and delivery services. It's the fourth hospital this year close its labor and delivery services, and follows several others over the past decade — from York to Fort Kent. The week after the maternity unit closure in Houlton was announced, about 200 community members packed into a standing-room only town hall meeting, organized by the nurses union.

1 week ago | mainepublic.org | Patty Wight

Hospitals, health clinics, and pharmacies in Maine are urging state lawmakers to support a bill that protects access to a program that they say serves as a lifeline. The 340B program was created by Congress more than 30 years ago. It allows rural health providers to purchase drugs at a discount to stretch scarce resources and reach more patients. And Lori Dwyer, president and CEO of Penobscot Community Health Care, said that's exactly how they use the program.

1 week ago | mainepublic.org | Patty Wight

MaineGeneral Health in Augusta is revising downward the number of positions that will be lost due to financial challenges made worse by capped MaineCare payments and a state budget deficit. President and CEO Nathan Howell says 20 positions, not the 100 announced in March, will be cut. The health care system is reducing hours for 14 employees, offering redeployment to 60 others, and leaving 54 open positions unfilled.

1 week ago | bangordailynews.com | Patty Wight

A new analysis finds that Maine hospitals are in a precarious financial position and that failure to act could result in closures and the end of some services. The Maine Hospital Association hired national consulting firm PYA to conduct the analysis, and its findings are bleak. The report said that Maine’s larger hospitals are the fifth poorest in the U.S. and are the second-most heavily in debt.

2 weeks ago | mainepublic.org | Patty Wight

Roughly 200 nurses, parents, and community members packed a town hall meeting in Houlton Wednesday night to urge Houlton Regional Hospital to reverse its decision to close the labor and delivery unit next month. Natalie Rush said she's been a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital for four years. "When they announced the closure of the unit, my mind immediately went to the deliveries I experienced that will stick with me for the rest of my life," she said. "The women who had bad hemorrhages.