Physicians at Rockport, Maine-based Pen Bay Medical Center expressed concern over parent company MaineHealth's proposal to create a single hospital board of trustees to govern all affiliated organizations and medical practices, according to the Knox Village Soup.
Pen Bay Medical Center physicians claim the creation of a single hospital board of trustees may result in the loss of control at the hospital level and affect the types of services the medical center would be able to provide to the community, according to the article. The 2010 merger agreement between Pen Bay Medical Center and the Portland, Maine-based health system allowed the medical center to maintain its own independent board of trustees following the merger.
Stephanie Lash, MD, president of the medical staff at PBMC, said in a letter to medical center employees Jan. 9 that since the medical center joined forces with Belfast, Maine-based Waldo County General Hospital — a MaineHealth affiliate since 2009 — to create the Costal Healthcare Alliance, its representation on the proposed hospital board would consist of half a vote. She also said MaineHealth executives would have to provide clear evidence of how the single board of trustees would benefit PBMC financially, as the medical center has witnessed a decreasing financial performance in the past couple of years, according to the article.
"The floated governance model of a single board, of which 50 percent is Portland-based, raises real concerns about preserving a rural voice, as only one small hospital would have to vote with Portland to create a majority on any issue," said Dr. Lash. "Moreover, as PBMC is now rolled into CHA, it appears there would be only one board member for both PBMC and Waldo, meaning in essence that PBMC, one of the largest smaller hospitals, would have a half vote on the proposed new board. How could this half person adequately and fully represent all of the needs/nuances of our hospital is not clear."