Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems replaced the CEO of the struggling Blue Hill Memorial Hospital yesterday.
EMHS President Michelle Hood yesterday said that CEO Tim Garrity will step down and EMHS Chief Medical Officer Erik Steele will become the hospital’s interim CEO, according to the Bangor Daily News. The 28-bed hospital has been saddled by growing debt in recent years because, hospital execs have claimed, the state has not adequately reimbursed it for MaineCare services. Last year, Garrity tapped the hospital’s endowment to fill a $2 million budget deficit, a practice Steele told the paper was unsustainable.
Hood said Garrity would support the transition as he looks for another job, possibly one with EMHS. The paper’s efforts to contact Garrity were unsuccessful.
