More than 250 Corporators, board members, medical staff, auxilians, and community leaders joined together at the Mid Coast–Parkview Health Annual Meeting held at Bowdoin College on January 9.
This was a historic meeting of the Mid Coast–Parkview Health Corporators, as in addition to the normal course of business, the Corporators voted on an important legal step in the organization’s planned merger with MaineHealth, the state’s largest integrated health system which includes Maine Medical Center and eight other hospitals. At the meeting, the Corporators unanimously voted to approve a full integration with MaineHealth, following regulatory clearances.
The two organizations announced their intent to merge in early 2019, outlining a several-step approval process which has progressed over the course of the past several months. In late December, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services issued a Certificate of Need for the proposed merger, and with this Corporator vote fulfilled, the transaction is now under review from the Federal Trade Commission.
"In order for us to continue our commitment to excellence in this rapidly changing healthcare landscape, we need to be part of a larger organization that will secure a strong healthcare system in our community for generations to come," said Lois Skillings, President and CEO of Mid Coast–Parkview Health.
Bill Caron, CEO of MaineHealth, joined Skillings at the meeting to outline the details of the merger before the vote.
"At MaineHealth, we are able to put the strength of our entire system behind the care provided in each community we serve," said Caron. "That is incredibly valuable to those communities in an era when delivering rural healthcare has grown exceptionally challenging."
In addition to the MaineHealth integration vote, the Mid Coast–Parkview Health annual meeting summarized and celebrated the year’s accomplishments and also formalized transitions with incoming and outgoing board members and officers. This year, Glenn Hutchinson, President of Bath Savings Institution, was elected as the incoming chairperson of the board, while outgoing chair, Sandra Morrell Rooney, was thanked for her years of service.
The meeting also confirmed the positive financial standing of Mid Coast–Parkview Health.
Skillings remarked, "Joining forces with MaineHealth now from a position of strength not only makes sense, but also will allow us to be part of redesigning the system to do even more to advance quality healthcare and bring down the costs of care through greater efficiency and economies of scale."