Calais Regional Hospital files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Courtesy / Calais Regional Hospital via Facebook
Calais Regional Hospital has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but said Tuesday patient services will continue and no layoffs are planned.
Calais Regional Hospital — with over 275 workers the largest employer in the Washington County city of 3,100 — on Tuesday filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Bangor federal court.
The 25-bed hospital has no plans to close and no layoffs are planned, according to a news release.
But the hospital said Chapter 11 debt restructuring was necessary because of losses caused by decreased use, the high levels of free care it provides, inadequate reimbursement from insurers and the cost of adapting to new regulations.
“The hospital is not closing. We remain committed to providing exceptional patient care during the Chapter 11 process. All departments are operating as usual,” CEO Rodney Boula said in the release. “We expect a prompt and efficient reorganization, and to emerge from Chapter 11 restructuring a stronger hospital.”
After reporting an operating loss of $2.64 million in 2014, Calais Regional lost $575,000 last year. Despite the smaller loss, it confronted other challenges. Acute admissions plunged from 900 in 2015 to 500 in 2018, and emergency-room visits fell from 10,750 to less than 9,500 over the same period.
The hospital has taken steps to control the damage. In 2017, Calais Regional closed its obstetrics department. Last year, the hospital ended a 31-year contract with a Tennessee-based management firm in an attempt to save money.
Chapter 11 is designed to provide companies time to reorganize their finances. The bankruptcy period at Calais Regional is expected to last about a year, during which it plans to remain open.
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