PITTSFIELD — On average throughout most of the year, more than half of Sebasticook Valley Hospital’s beds are unoccupied. The 27-bed facility normally has an occupancy of 12 or 13 patients, SVH Administrator Jack May said Tuesday during an area business coalition meeting.

With this in mind, the hospital has been researching a change in status that would allow it to increase revenue and make up for those empty beds.

By changing to a “critical access” hospital, SVH would drop to 15 beds, and would limit the average stay to 96 hours, instead of having unlimited stays. The change in status would dramatically change the way the hospital is federally reimbursed for services provided and could be a lifeline for small, rural facilities such as SVH.

Several other rural hospitals in northern Maine already have changed to critical access status, including C.A. Dean Hospital in Greenville, Blue Hill Memorial Hospital and Penobscot Hospital in Lincoln.

May explained that SVH now is paid one standard fee for services. Under critical access status, SVH would be reimbursed for its costs plus a fee.

This revenue increase would help SVH make up for the loss of more than $1.1 million in revenue over the next five years, money lost in Medicare reimbursements with the passage of the Balanced Budget Act.

In addressing the monthly gathering of area business representatives, May stressed that the change is in the research stage only.

“This has a lot of pros and cons for the community,” the administrator said. “We need to see if changing our status improves patient care and access to services. If those things don’t happen, this may not be for us.”

May told the businesspeople and town officials that researching a status change was driven by the shrinking number of inpatients. “This could be a way for small hospitals in rural settings to remain financially viable,” he said.

The hospital administrator admitted that the change would be in contrast to the hospital’s current clinic service. More than 40 people a day visit the two dozen specialists who conduct outpatient clinics at SVH on a regular basis.

As far as limiting inpatient stays, May said the 96-hour cap is an average and that all patients requiring more lengthy hospital stays will be transferred to EMMC.

Mike Lynch, a SVH trustee, said the board looked at critical access status three to four years ago.

“But we left it alone then, because it was so new,” said Lynch. “Then, as other hospitals got into it and we began to build our strategy plan, we took a second look.”

Lynch commented, “It is a whole different world, working in the finances of a hospital, rather than the real world. With only half the beds filled, I couldn’t operate a business this way.”

May added, “The key will be to study and evaluate the change and see if it fits for us.” He said that if the hospital doesn’t take steps to control its own destiny, someone else will.

On Monday, SVH was awarded a grant by the Maine Department of Human Services to study the change, May announced, but the amount of that grant has not yet been released.

In explaining the status change, the administator said it would be vital for the hospital to capitalize on its affiliation with Eastern Maine Healthcare of Bangor, a network that includes seven hospitals and a variety of other facilities.

“This will be very important,” he said. “Because of this alignment, we will gain a lot of things, such as local clinics, orthopedics, educational and legal expertise and physician recruitment.”

He said that SVH, with only 27 beds, is able to do hip replacements because surgeons come to Pittsfield and SVH can buy the implants through the EMHC affiliation.

SVH is awaiting approval from the Maine attorney general to merge financially with EMHC, to allow it to become a full partner in EMHC, which employs 6,000 people across northern and eastern Maine with an annual payroll of $64 million.

May said the development of a strategic plan, which was started 45 days ago, will include a community needs assessment. SVH received a $75,000 grant several weeks ago to create a coalition to conduct the three-year assessment. He reported that a steering committee already had met and the hospital is in the process of hiring a coordinator for the study.

An all-day training session for the assessment has been planned for Feb. 17, facilitated by the Maine Bureau of Health. SVH has invited representatives from local businesses, industries, social service and health organizations, civic groups, the religious community, schools, municipal governments and interested area residents to attend.

Other parts of the strategic plan, said May, include evaluating the services now provided with area needs. He said the creation of a women’s health center may be part of that plan.