Dive Brief:
- Mid Coast Hospital in Maine is expected to buy 55-bed Parkview Adventist Medical Center, following Parkview's filing this week for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief.
- The plan is for Parkview to close its doors Thursday evening and reopen Friday as a walk-in clinic much like another operated by Mid Coast Hospital in downtown Brunswick. The location will also house physician practices and services including radiology, laboratory, ambulatory testing and surgery, oncology, hematology, infusion services, physical, occupational and speech therapy services, and community health and wellness programs, the Bangor Daily News reports.
- In addition, Parkview will enter a contract with Bluewater Emergency Partners. The company operates Mid Coast Hospital's emergency services and will take on Parkview’s emergency services contract with Central Maine Medical Center.
Dive Insight:
The merger of these two former rivals is likely just the beginning of a string of consolidations to ultimately occur among Maine's 37 hospitals, notes Andrew Coburn, a rural health expert and chairman of the master of public health program at the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine.
Upon court approval, Mid Coast Hospital and the Parkview facility will jointly operate as Midcoast-Parkview Health System.
Hospital leaders at Mid Coast and Parkview were quick to emphasize that they are not closing Parkview and that the "legacy of the Adventist healthcare system" will continue, with dietary needs addressed for Seventh Day Adventists and chaplain services at Parkview.