March 7, 2005
On the move | Mercy Hospital CEO Eileen Skinner on the hospital's recently approved relocation
By Michaela Cavallaro
Eileen Skinner wants to be very clear about one thing: Mercy Hospital's $66 million construction of a new facility along the Fore River in Portland is not an expansion. "Don't use that word," she says firmly of the project, which was approved by the state Department of Health and Human Services in mid-February. Instead, over the next several years Mercy will move its existing services to new facilities on a 28-acre site along I-295 ˆ a far cry from its current home in an aging building on just three acres in Portland's densely residential West End.
Given the scrutiny that hospital finances are undergoing as part of Gov. John Baldacci's Dirigo Health plan, it's not surprising that Skinner, Mercy's CEO since 2002, is sensitive to the semantics surrounding the project. "Between us and Maine Med, it looks like we cover the community very well," Skinner says. "This [new facility] is not excess capacityˆ We're thinking that we are very complementary to the goals of the state health plan that's evolving."
The relocation plan emerged about seven years ago, Skinner says, following a proposed merger between Maine Medical Center, Brighton Medical and Mercy. When that deal didn't go through, she says, Maine Med took over Brighton and Mercy remained independent. "A lot of the physicians at Brighton came over to Mercy, and it created this explosive growth situation," she says. "The place was busting at the seams."
Mercy's board and executives explored several alternatives to create more room at its current location, ranging from building on top of the hospital to pushing the building's front wall out toward State Street. But, Skinner says, due to a combination of neighborhood opposition and high costs associated with renovation, Mercy management realized that "the gain in space was just not worth the dollars," she says.
The hospital eventually acquired the parcel on the Fore River and set about planning its new facility, which originally was expected to begin construction in 2004 for completion in 2006. A number of factors combined to make that schedule infeasible, not least of which was Skinner's desire as the incoming CEO to examine the assumptions underpinning the project. "You don't forge ahead on a huge building project unless you're really convinced that's the right thing to do," she says.
After about a year of review, the group decided to forge ahead, and filed a certificate of need application in December 2003. "Then," Skinner says, "you wait." In the meantime, Mercy executives worked with architects, met with the city and made preliminary plans for a capital campaign, though Skinner says they were loathe to sign contracts or solicit donations without the CON in hand.
Finally, last month the state approved the project. Skinner says initial site work will begin this year, with actual construction slated to start "as soon as mud season comes in 2006." By early 2008, the hospital hopes to open a 130,000-square-foot building to house ambulatory surgery, physical therapy and other high-traffic services, which will take pressure off the State Street location. And, says Skinner, "the long-term goal is to put in another CON application and move the rest of the hospital" ˆ in total, a $160.7 million relocation.
Even in an environment in which hospital spending is vigorously debated statewide ˆ witness the recent report by the Commission to Study Maine Hospitals, which among other items recommended expanding the CON process to smaller hospital projects ˆ Skinner is confident Mercy's strategy is sound. "There's nothing that's come out of the study process that makes me think we are on the wrong path. Now, if we were going to build a hospital spa, for instance, that would be questionable," she says with a laugh. "But we're planning to build on our strengths."
Given the scrutiny that hospital finances are undergoing as part of Gov. John Baldacci's Dirigo Health plan, it's not surprising that Skinner, Mercy's CEO since 2002, is sensitive to the semantics surrounding the project. "Between us and Maine Med, it looks like we cover the community very well," Skinner says. "This [new facility] is not excess capacityˆ We're thinking that we are very complementary to the goals of the state health plan that's evolving."
The relocation plan emerged about seven years ago, Skinner says, following a proposed merger between Maine Medical Center, Brighton Medical and Mercy. When that deal didn't go through, she says, Maine Med took over Brighton and Mercy remained independent. "A lot of the physicians at Brighton came over to Mercy, and it created this explosive growth situation," she says. "The place was busting at the seams."
Mercy's board and executives explored several alternatives to create more room at its current location, ranging from building on top of the hospital to pushing the building's front wall out toward State Street. But, Skinner says, due to a combination of neighborhood opposition and high costs associated with renovation, Mercy management realized that "the gain in space was just not worth the dollars," she says.
The hospital eventually acquired the parcel on the Fore River and set about planning its new facility, which originally was expected to begin construction in 2004 for completion in 2006. A number of factors combined to make that schedule infeasible, not least of which was Skinner's desire as the incoming CEO to examine the assumptions underpinning the project. "You don't forge ahead on a huge building project unless you're really convinced that's the right thing to do," she says.
After about a year of review, the group decided to forge ahead, and filed a certificate of need application in December 2003. "Then," Skinner says, "you wait." In the meantime, Mercy executives worked with architects, met with the city and made preliminary plans for a capital campaign, though Skinner says they were loathe to sign contracts or solicit donations without the CON in hand.
Finally, last month the state approved the project. Skinner says initial site work will begin this year, with actual construction slated to start "as soon as mud season comes in 2006." By early 2008, the hospital hopes to open a 130,000-square-foot building to house ambulatory surgery, physical therapy and other high-traffic services, which will take pressure off the State Street location. And, says Skinner, "the long-term goal is to put in another CON application and move the rest of the hospital" ˆ in total, a $160.7 million relocation.
Even in an environment in which hospital spending is vigorously debated statewide ˆ witness the recent report by the Commission to Study Maine Hospitals, which among other items recommended expanding the CON process to smaller hospital projects ˆ Skinner is confident Mercy's strategy is sound. "There's nothing that's come out of the study process that makes me think we are on the wrong path. Now, if we were going to build a hospital spa, for instance, that would be questionable," she says with a laugh. "But we're planning to build on our strengths."
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