Photo / Courtesy Houlton Regional Hospital
Houlton Regional Hospital
Updated: June 2, 2025
Aroostook County hospitals team up on management in effort to cut costs
Photo / Courtesy Northern Maine Medical Center
Northern Maine Medical Center will provide executive management to Houlton Regional Hospital.
Two Aroostook County hospitals are looking to improve their long-term financial stability through a collaboration agreement that could lead to a formal affiliation.
The management service agreement between Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent and Houlton Regional Hospital comes at a time when many hospitals are cutting services and delaying critical investments.
Houlton Regional Hospital and Northern Maine Medical Center are among a number of hospitals that have previously closed their inpatient labor and delivery units.
Each has 25 acute care beds and both are critical access hospitals, a federal designation for a rural hospital that is by definition small and remote, struggling with declining liquidity, mounting operational pressures and aging facilities.
“In this critical time for rural hospitals, this a great opportunity to align services for the future of both hospitals and the care they provide to their communities,” said Jeff Zewe, NMMC’s president and CEO.
“The outlook for rural hospitals as stand-alone facilities is precarious,” Zewe added. “We have seen rural hospital closures rise across the nation, even here at home with the closure of Inland Hospital at the end of May. Rural hospitals need to pull together to remain viable through growth, sharing services, recruitment and financial stability.”
Combined, the two hospitals serve almost half of Aroostook County’s 70,000 people.
Collaboration
Under the one-year management services agreement, Northern Maine Medical Center will provide executive management to the Houlton hospital, with a focus on collaboration that’s expected to lead to a formal affiliation.
The agreement is intended to increase patient access, enhance quality outcomes and improve the long-term financial stability of both hospitals, according to a news release.
Effective immediately, Zewe and Aaron Teachout, NMMC’s CFO, will serve in those same roles at HRH. Both hospitals will continue to operate as independent entities under the direction of their respective boards of trustees.
“This agreement will make us stronger together,” said Lynette McLaughlin, president of the Houlton hospital's board of trustees.
Zewe said the joint effort could enhance physician recruitment and improve access and quality for both hospitals.
“Sharing expertise and services can only mean good things for our communities,” he said.
Given the reality of rural hospitals, maintaining the status quo is not sustainable in the long-term, he continued.
“The time to be proactive is now,” Zewe said. “If we stand alone, chances of survival are limited. Coming together and leveraging opportunities will help us better navigate through these very challenging times in health care.”
Earlier this year, nurses won a settlement agreement with Northern Maine Medical Center, which had been cited by the Maine Department of Labor for regulatory violations affecting nursing staff.
Houlton Regional Hospital’s closure of its inpatient labor and delivery unit, due to patient volume decline, became effective May 2. The hospital’s OB/GYN physician’s office remains open and continue to provide services for women’s health care, the hospital said.
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