Bridgton Hospital

The deal, announced earlier this year, would give a nonprofit acquirer sole ownership of all Central Maine Healthcare services and facilities, including Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

As part of the agreement, the buyer has pledged to invest $150 million in Central Maine Healthcare facilities over the next five years.

Lewiston's second-largest health care provider, St. Mary's Health System, has hired Jill Rollins as vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer.

Stephany Jacques has been interim president of the two Central Maine Healthcare critical access hospitals since May.

Starting Thursday, 38 National Guard members out of 75 that have been called up will be deployed to 10 health care facilities across the state.

The state has consistently scored near the top in national evaluations of hospital quality and safety, conducted by the Leapfrog Group. Now the group is singling out Maine for its high marks.

Project costs have gone up 25% in the past six to eight months, but plans for the 48-bed facility are moving ahead and it could be completed by the fall of 2022.

First announced last November, the $38 million, 50,000-square-foot oncology center will break ground Thursday and is expected to open in the first quarter of 2022.

Central Maine Healthcare had long prepared for emergencies such as the massive outbreak of a deadly disease. But when Maine's first COVID-19 patient entered an emergency room on March 10, things happened fast.