Jane Good is not afraid to ask for help. As a volunteer for the Save St. Andrews Task Force and now the Boothbay Region Health and Wellness Foundation, Good has reached out to Maine’s Attorney General, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner, and elected officials, including Gov. Paul LePage.

On January 6, Good hand delivered another letter to LePage. She’s looking for answers.  She particularly wants to know why LePage and DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew assured Good in writing that no Certificate of Need was necessary to merge St. Andrews and Miles Memorial hospitals only to reverse that decision days after the merger took place.

Good wants to know why MaineHealth wasn’t required to obtain a CON in 2008, whether they will be assessed penalties for failing to do so, and whether anyone at DHHS will be held accountable for the department’s inaction while healthcare services were removed.

“I am just looking for the truth,” Good said. “We have been lied to so many times. I am hoping the governor will step in and help us find some answers.”

On January 13, LePage’s secretary said she did not believe the governor had yet seen Good’s letter. She said someone from communications would return the Boothbay Register’s inquiry. By January 15, there was still no response from the governor’s office.

Certificate of Need comment period

The public comment period for Lincoln County Healthcare’s certificate of need application with the DHHS ends on January 22.

Public testimony from the CON hearing held in Boothbay Harbor on December 19 can be found on the Boothbay Region Health and Wellness Foundation’s website.

Related:

State regulators will review Lincoln County Healthcare changes

Patient beds the recurrent theme at LCH hearing