A critical access hospital is viable on the Boothbay peninsula and Lincoln County Healthcare should keep the emergency department at St. Andrews Hospital open, according to a 36-page report released on Jan. 23.
“Specific data along with assumptions about a very uncertain future demonstrate there is no compelling reason to close the Emergency Department,” according to the document.
Consulting firms iVantage Health Analytics and the Gabarro Group, which produced the report, were hired by the St. Andrews Task Force to look into the needs and opportunities for a hospital in the Boothbay area.
Lincoln Count Healthcare’s proposal to close the emergency department at St. Andrews Hospital in April, 2013 was approved by the MaineHealth board of trustees last August. In early December, LCH agreed to postpone the closure until October 1.
The Lincoln County News will have a complete story here and in the pages of our Jan. 31 edition.
