Dear Editor:

In an online article published by the Boothbay Register Friday, Rep. Bruce MacDonald voiced his concerns that MaineHealth may have influenced Stroudwater Associates’ decision not to work with the St. Andrews Task Force. 

We were pleased to see in a recent update that Rep. MacDonald no longer believes MaineHealth attempted to influence Stroudwater’s decision. In fact, both Lincoln County Healthcare and MaineHealth have a strong interest in seeing that the task force is fully informed about healthcare trends.

I’m writing today to support the St. Andrews Task Force in its efforts to understand the demographic, clinical and patient volume trends that are significantly changing the way we (and providers everywhere) are delivering healthcare.

While the decision our organization made to change services at St. Andrews was the result of months of research pouring over this data, I completely understand why the task force wants to review our work, and get a second opinion on our conclusions. 

Because of the complexity of this information, it’s important to seek experts who can provide guidance and perspective. There are many top-notch healthcare consulting groups in this country. We hope the task force is able to find the expert assistance it needs to review the data we have provided. We have, (and will continue) to offer assistance when the task force has questions.

I believe that in any disagreement, the most important first step is to agree on the circumstances (in this case, the data) that led to the disagreement. It is my sincere hope that the task force will review the data and come to understand the challenges healthcare providers are facing throughout the state. 

We may continue to differ in our conclusions, but the sooner we both agree on the problems, the better.

James Donovan
President
Lincoln County Healthcare