Blue Hill hospital closer to joining EMHS

BLUE HILL – Blue Hill Memorial Hospital and Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems have cleared a major hurdle in their effort to make the Blue Hill hospital the newest member of the system.

In a letter Friday to Norman Ledwin, president and chief executive officer of EMHS, state Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner John Nicholas granted a certificate of need authorizing Blue Hill to become an affiliate of EMHS.

The process now needs only approval of the Maine Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority and votes by various boards of the two institutions to become final.

If the affiliation proceeds as planned, BHMH will become a direct subsidiary of EMHS. The Blue Hill hospital has been a strategic member of EMHS since 1997.

The certificate of need review ensures that the proposed affiliation satisfies certain criteria, including that the project is economically feasible, meets a public need, is consistent with the economic development of health care facilities and is consistent with the state health plan.

BHMH CEO Timothy Garrity was pleased that the certificate had been granted.

“As we’ve worked through this process, we are even more convinced we’ve made the right decision,” Garrity said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “This affiliation will help us meet the quality standards of the future, increase the availability of health care services in our community and enhance our financial viability, while preserving local control of our hospital and the culture of personalized care that we cherish.”

Ledwin was out of town on Wednesday and not available for comment.

The decision to issue the certificate of need completes a review process that began last December after boards from BHMH and EMHS voted unanimously to proceed with the affiliation.

The commissioner’s letter indicates the total cost of the project cannot exceed $9,486,038. That figure represents the value of the BHMH property, but Lynn Boulger, the hospital’s director of development, stressed that there will be no transfer of assets from the hospital to EMHS.

The report from the DHHS Certificate of Need Unit also noted that all property and assets will remain with the respective parties, as will all debts, obligations and liabilities.

DHHS Commissioner Nicholas stipulated that approval of the certificate of need was conditional on the hospitals ensuring they are in compliance with all antitrust requirements.

He noted that the Maine Attorney General’s Office had not completed its review of antitrust issues at the time he signed the certificate.

The attorney general has since approved the affiliation, according to Boulger.

The Blue Hill Memorial Hospital Foundation previously voted to relinquish its role as the parent company. On Monday, the foundation board adopted new bylaws to formally make that change.

The foundation will continue to oversee the hospital’s endowment fund and will continue its role as the parent company of Coastal Holdings Inc., which manages the Parker Ridge Retirement Community.

The foundation corporators are scheduled to vote on the new bylaws Sept. 15. The EMHS board is scheduled to vote on the final affiliation agreement Sept. 21, followed by a vote by the full foundation and hospital boards Sept. 29.

If all goes as planned, the affiliation should become effective Oct. 1.