Representatives from Mid Coast–Parkview Health and MaineHealth received final clearance to move forward with the planned merger of the two healthcare organizations. Mid Coast–Parkview Health will join MaineHealth as a member on March 1, 2020 and will work toward full integration over the next several months as operations become unified.
The two organizations began exploring integration in early 2019 and underwent an extensive exploratory process with comprehensive community and stakeholder engagement. In August 2019, they began to pursue necessary legal due diligence and regulatory approvals and have since received consent from several parties including the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Trade Commission and the Mid Coast–Parkview Health Corporators.
"As a clinical affiliate of MaineHealth for more than 25 years, becoming a fully integrated partner makes sense for our organization and will ensure a sustainable healthcare system in the Midcoast region long into the future," said Lois Skillings, President and CEO of Mid Coast–Parkview Health. "Overall, this has been a very thorough process and we are so grateful for the overwhelming support that we have received from employees, medical staff, patients, area employers and community members."
Mid Coast–Parkview Health previously outlined government policies, increased regulation, growth in uncompensated care and rapid technology advancements as examples of where integrating with the MaineHealth system will create efficiencies and enhance the overall quality of care and services provided in the region.
Bill Caron, CEO of MaineHealth, commented, "Mid Coast–Parkview Health has always shared our values as a provider of excellent, patient-centered care in the communities it serves, and we are looking forward to having them as a fully integrated part of our team and pursuing our vision of working together so our communities are the healthiest in America."
With the integration, the two organizations will undertake regional planning for the delivery of healthcare across the region. They will further integrate into one single electronic health record to facilitate better care for patients, maintain a local board of directors to focus on local culture, work to reduce costs by gaining economies of scale, and invest in regional health improvement initiatives.
"Our mission of caring for the health of our community will not waver," said Skillings. "With this integration we reaffirm our commitment of ensuring a strong local healthcare system, centered around the needs of patients, and dedicated to lowering costs of care."