As health care costs continue to rise, affecting everything from access to wage growth, some service providers in Maine are looking at collaborations as a way to ensure continuity of services.
St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston recently said it’s expanding access to cancer care through a partnership with MaineGeneral’s Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care in Augusta.
Elsewhere in the state, Kennebec Behavioral Health and Sweetser said they’re joining forces to ensure a transition of mobile crisis services in Kennebec and Somerset counties.
Cancer program
St. Mary’s Health System’s collaboration with MaineGeneral’s Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care restores access to medical oncology services at St. Mary’s for patients throughout Androscoggin County and surrounding communities, according to a news release.
The initiative brings together local access to cancer treatment and the expertise of a comprehensive cancer program, helping more patients receive care closer to home.
St. Mary’s will work with patients to help address transportation needs by coordinating available transportation resources when appropriate.
The program will be supported by a multidisciplinary team from the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care.
“One of the concerns we heard most often from our community was the importance of local access to cancer treatment,” said Win Brown, president of St. Mary’s Health System. “Restoring access to medical oncology services at St. Mary’s has been an important goal, and this collaboration allows us to do so in partnership with one of Maine’s premier cancer programs.”
Medical oncology services at St. Mary’s were suspended in 2024 after changes to a previous partnership resulted in the relocation of the oncology team providing care at St. Mary’s, a spokesperson told Mainebiz.
Behavioral health
Effective July 1, Saco-based mental health nonprofit Sweetser assumed responsibility for Waterville-based mental health and substance use nonprofit Kennebec Behavioral Health’s mobile crisis intervention response services in Kennebec and Somerset counties.
Kennebec and Sweetser are engaged in collaborative planning to support a smooth handoff by coordinating across care teams, community partners, hospitals, law enforcement and other stakeholders to preserve established relationships and ensure that the transition does not interrupt the delivery of services, according to a news release.
PHOTO / COURTESY SWEETSER
Kennebec will continue to provide clinic and community-based services throughout Kennebec and Somerset counties, said Tom McAdam, Kennebec’s CEO.
Mobile crisis services encompass a continuum of care, a spokesperson told Mainebiz. Triage is available 24/7 for individuals in crisis. Trained staff engage with individuals wherever it’s safe to do so — crisis office locations, homes, schools and other community settings. The “mobile” aspect means staff travel to the person in crisis rather than requiring the person to come to a clinic.
Crisis stabilization units provide short-term residential care as an alternative to hospitalization, with 24-hour staff supervision, individualized treatment planning, therapeutic groups and discharge/aftercare planning. Crisis aftercare/outreach offers follow-up support for people who have had a mobile crisis evaluation.
Sweetser expects to have over 36 full-time staff engaged in the services throughout Kennebec and Somerset counties. Given the shortened transition period, hiring will ramp up over the next few months. It’s anticipated that several of Kennebec’s team members will continue with Sweetser.
Sweetser already provides mobile crisis services in Androscoggin, Franklin, Oxford, and York counties, with over 3,400 interventions in 2025.
History of collaboration
The two organizations share a history of collaboration in Maine’s behavioral health system and are coordinating across care teams, community partners, hospitals, law enforcement and other stakeholders to preserve established relationships and keep service delivery uninterrupted. Kennebec will continue providing outpatient therapy, psychiatric services, community support, substance use treatment and other behavioral health services in central Maine.
Sweetser’s goal is to rent space in Kennebec County by the end of July and in Somerset County by the end of the summer, as part of its ramp-up in the region.
Kennebec Behavioral Health, founded in 1960, provides behavioral health services including outpatient therapy, psychiatric care, substance use treatment and community support across clinics in Waterville, Augusta, Skowhegan, Winthrop and Farmington.
Kennebec Behavioral Health listed annual revenue of $45.5 million in its most recent nonprofit tax filing, according to the 2025 Mainebiz Giving Guide.
Founded in 1828, Sweetser is one of Maine’s largest behavioral health nonprofits, providing mental health, recovery and educational services to over 12,000 children, adults, and families annually.
Sweetser recently broke ground on a youth psychiatric residential treatment facility at its campus at 50 Moody St.
Sweetser listed annual revenue of $50.2 million in its most recent nonprofit tax filing, according to the 2025 Mainebiz Giving Guide. Sweetser ranks No. 11 among Maine’s largest social service nonprofits in Mainebiz’s 2026 Book of Lists.
