Mayo Regional Hospital merger bill advances to votes in House and Senate
Courtesy / Mayo Regional Hospital
Mayo Regional Hospital President and CEO Marie Vienneau said Tuesday's vote by the Legislature's State and Local Government Committee advances a bill that facilitates a proposed merger with Northern Light Health.
Members of the State and Local Government Committee voted on Tuesday to send LD 1708, which would pave the way for Mayo Regional Hospital to merge with Northern Light Health, to the full Legislature with an “ought to pass” recommendation.
If the House and Senate approve the bill, Mayo Regional Hospital would be authorized to merge into a new entity known as MRH Corp., a Maine nonprofit, nonstock private corporation under Northern Light Health. Upon the effective date of the merger, the 13-community Hospital Administrative District 4 that previously oversaw the hospital’s operations would be dissolved.
Under the legislation, MRH Corp. is required to continue to serve the health care needs of the communities served by the district.
LD 1708 is expected to be on the calendar for the House and Senate to take up the bill later this week or next.
Background on the merger process
In April, all 13 communities that make up Hospital Administrative District 4 held votes within their towns, allowing residents to weigh in on the potential merger. Twelve of the 13 communities voted in favor of the merger, with more than 80% of the total votes being cast in the affirmative. Cambridge is the only town to have voted against the merger.
Because Mayo Regional Hospital is owned and operated as a Hospital Administrative District, its board is made up of members who are elected by the communities served by the hospital. Hospital Administrative District 4 is the only one left in Maine and is a quasi-governmental agency with taxing power.
The effect of the merger with Northern Light Health will be to transform the district into a Maine charitable tax-exempt nonprofit corporation that would have a community-based board but would not have taxing authority. This would relieve the towns in the district from potential liability for the certain indebtedness of the hospital.
“After seeing such overwhelming local support to protect quality care in this region, we have seen that same level of support from our elected officials in Augusta,” Mayo Regional Hospital President and CEO Marie Vienneau said in a statement following Tuesday’s committee vote. “The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Norm Higgins, as well as the rest of our local legislative delegation and the members of the State and Local Government Committee have done a great deal of work to learn about this issue, hear from the people it will affect the most, and make a sound decision. We thank our elected officials for their due diligence and moving this bill forward.”
Higgins, an independent from Dover Foxcroft, said his bill is “the responsible path to take and the right thing to do.”
“Access to local care is so vitally important,” he said. “Rural independent hospitals are facing challenges nationwide. We have an opportunity locally to ensure that our rural hospital is able to be made sustainable with the resources and talents of the team at Northern Light Health.”
Northern Light Health President and CEO Michelle Hood said the Brewer-based health care system and Mayo Regional Hospital “share the common goal of providing quality care close to home.”
"Throughout this process, it has become apparent that the communities served by Mayo Regional Hospital and our elected officials also share that goal,” she said. “It is the responsibility of Northern Light Health to ensure that the delivery of quality health care services can be maintained and accessible, and we take that responsibility very seriously. We look forward to the next steps in this process, and working closely with all parties involved."
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