Dear Editor:

Due to the snowstorm and blizzard warnings on Valentine's Day, the Boothbay Region Health and Wellness Foundation canceled the potluck supper, auction and first public presentation of the proposal for a new regional healthcare center.

The good news is that we are on for this Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Boothbay Firehouse from 5 to 7 p.m. Bring yourself, your friends and family, and a yummy covered dish to share at the table. Each of the directors of the foundation is donating treasures from home to auction off for this year’s first fundraising event — everything from wicker, paintings, collectibles, and gift certificates from local holistic practitioners.

Perhaps some of you already know, from the front page of the Register, that Jerry Homer, the foundation’s health center initiative director, has been working diligently over the past two years with a group of professionals investigating the potential for a new healthcare center in our community.

Their plans have solidified enough that they are now ready to find out how much community interest and support there is for the project. The goal is to develop a local healthcare center owned and governed by the community and based on patient-centered care, increased access to care, an effective after hours on-call coverage, and electronic systems that are focused on patients, not billing.

Please come and join in on a discussion about taking back local control of our healthcare, have something homemade and delicious to eat. You may also go home with a treasure from the auction.

Vice President Margaret J. Perritt

Boothbay Region Health and Wellness Foundation

Boothbay Harbor