York (Maine) Hospital has signed a letter of intent to join Portland-based MaineHealth, citing an increasingly challenging healthcare landscape.
Rising labor costs, escalating pharmaceutical and supply expenses, and increasing payer denials have forced the 79-bed independent nonprofit hospital to “review its options regarding its future,” according to an Oct. 30 news release.
York Hospital also does not qualify for federal safety-net programs such as the critical access hospital designation and the 340B drug pricing program, according to the release.
“As efficient and agile as we are, we can no longer navigate the challenging healthcare landscape on our own,” York Hospital CEO Patrick Taylor, MD, said in the release. “We are taking this step out of a responsibility to our community.”
Dr. Taylor said the hospital has turned to MaineHealth — the state’s largest health system — multiple times over the past year for clinical and support service needs.
“Now, we are looking to join the MaineHealth family to ensure that our community continues to have local access to top-quality health care close to home, for generations to come,” he said.
The proposed merger is a multi-step process that may take more than a year to complete, the release said. Approvals are required from the state, including a certificate of need and a separate review by the Maine attorney general.
York Hospital said in the release that there will be consolidation of nonclinical staff but “emphasizes that throughout this multi-step process, it will continue to operate in a manner that optimizes the care provided to the communities it serves until a decision has been made.”
“With York Hospital as a part of the MaineHealth family, we will be able to continue to provide the people of southern York County with outstanding care close to home, bringing us another step closer to our MaineHealth vision of working together so our communities are the healthiest in America,” MaineHealth CEO Andrew Mueller, MD said in the release.
In addition to its main hospital campus, York Hospital also has 10 community sites throughout Southern Maine and New Hampshire, according to the release.
