Final town approves Mayo hospital’s merger with Northern Light Health
File Photo / Maureen Milliken
Mayo Regional Hospital, shown here last winter, may become part of Northern Light Health, the state's second-largest health care system.
More Information
Citizens in Sangerville voted Tuesday night in favor of moving forward with a merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health. Sangerville’s 78-4 vote in favor of the merger is the final vote of the 13 communities in Hospital Administrative District 4, the quasi-governmental agency with taxing power that oversees the hospital in Dover-Foxcroft.
Dexter’s Town Council unanimously approved the merger earlier in April by a vote of 7-0. Monson, Abbot, Bradford, Milo, Dover-Foxcroft, Willimantic, Parkman, Atkinson, Sebec, and Guilford voters all approved the merger at their own town meetings. Cambridge is the only town to have voted against the merger.
Because Mayo Regional Hospital is owned and operated as a hospital administrative district, its board is made up of members who are elected by the communities served by the hospital. The district is the only one left in Maine.
The effect of the merger will be to transform Hospital Administrative District 4 into a Maine charitable tax-exempt nonprofit corporation that would have a community-based board but would not have taxing authority. This would relieve the towns in the district from potential liability for the certain indebtedness of the hospital.
Similar to Northern Light Health’s arrangements with other hospitals, Mayo and its clinics would remain open under the merger, and providers could continue providing quality care to people living in Piscataquis County, the hospital stated in February.
“The number of people who came out to these town meetings to cast their vote shows us that this issue is so important to people in this region,” said Mayo Regional Hospital president and CEO Marie Vienneau. “The overwhelming amount of support for keeping quality care close and moving forward with this merger is an important step forward in the entire process. The next step moves to the State Legislature, but we are hoping that the show of support for the merger locally is being heard loud and clear in Augusta.”
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments