“This decision has not been made lightly. With the recent loss of two physician partners and a midwife, I now find myself on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” wrote the owner of the private practice.
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Another maternal health and obstetrics clinic is scheduled to close — the latest in a string of closures in recent years.
At 12 Stillwater Ave. in Bangor, the owner of Downeast Ob/Gyn, an obstetrical and gynecological care private practice offering women’s health care, announced in a Facebook post that the final day of business will be July 2.
Other closings have included labor and delivery units at Houlton Regional Hospital and Mount Desert Island Hospital, as the health care industry struggles with crippling costs, plummeting revenues and aging infrastructure.
On call 24/7
“This decision has not been made lightly. With the recent loss of two physician partners and a midwife, I now find myself on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” wrote Christopher Rumsey.
“As much as I wish I could continue, this level of coverage is simply not sustainable long-term,” he continued. “While there are many factors that contributed to this incredibly difficult decision, the primary challenge has been the inability to recruit new physicians into the private practice setting.”
Rumsey said he would continue his practice at Women’s Healthcare of Maine at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, “and it is my sincere hope that many of you will choose to follow me there so I can continue to be part of your care,” he wrote.
Transitions
Two nurse practitioners with the practice “are still determining where their next professional steps will take them,” he added. “Both intend to remain in the area, and if possible, they hope to transition their current patients to wherever they land next. We will share additional information regarding their plans as soon as it becomes available.”
Downeast Ob/Gyn was established in 1994. Rumsey took ownership in 2019 with the intention of continuing the practice until his retirement, he wrote.
Over the coming weeks, patients will begin receiving written notification of the closure along with a medical record release form that will allow them to transfer their records either to Women’s Healthcare of Maine to continue seeing Rumsey or to the provider of their choice.
"For our obstetric patients, please know that there will be no interruption in the continuity of your care,” he said. “Our staff is working closely with the team at Women’s Healthcare of Maine to ensure your transition is as seamless as possible.”
Obstetric units have been closing throughout the U.S. in recent decades, especially in rural areas, according to a needs assessment of the obstetric workforce in Maine’s rural hospitals, commissioned by MaineHealth to the Roux Institute and published in January 2024.
