Over the past week, community members and the press have reached out to the foundation for our response to Commissioner Mary Mayhew’s decision to rescind her condition that LCH maintain a 24-7 Urgent Care facility in order to be granted the necessary Certificates of Need to continue operations at St. Andrews Hospital (Miles Campus and St. Andrews Campus).

Our collective response is similar to what we are hearing from the community — the reactions range from being disheartened, discouraged, disappointed and outraged. Some were not surprised as they felt that politics had a hand in the ultimate decision. And now as we think over our journey of the past two years, some salient facts come to mind.

The fact is that the 24/7 urgent care facility was entirely the idea of the department of health and human services certificate of need unit and was endorsed enthusiastically by Commissioner Mayhew when she included it as one of the conditions with which she would grant the certificates of need.

This took the foundation, the community and even MaineHealth completely by surprise.

The community and the foundation were advocating for the restoration of 24/7 emergency room and skilled nursing beds while MaineHealth pressed to retain reduced services at the St. Andrews Campus.

When the commissioner endorsed the concept of 24/7 urgent care, she raised the hopes of many and the community looked with favor on her idea. When MaineHealth asked for reconsideration, we encouraged her to hold fast to what appeared to be a brilliant creation to meet the healthcare needs of our newly under-served community.

The fact is that well into the time-frame by which the commissioner’s response to the testimony presented at the reconsideration hearing should have come forth, the foundation was contacted by DHHS and asked if we would have any objection to the department delaying the decision because the commissioner had not had time to review the information.

At a special called meeting, the foundation board voted unanimously to not grant a delay. It was our position that the community had waited long enough for the decision. Ignoring our vote, the department delayed the opinion until after the elections. Interestingly, the state and MaineHealth, the other two affected parties, did not object to the delay.

The fact is that when St. Andrews Hospital and Maine Medical Center Foundation formed an alliance in 1996 and 1997, they applied for and were granted Certificates of Need for their actions.

And yet, in 2007 when MaineHealth reorganized and formed Lincoln County Healthcare and in 2013 when MaineHealth merged two hospitals under the name of LincolnHealth, they contended that no Certificate of Need was required.

Shortly after Oct. 1, 2013, as the doors closed at St. Andrews Hospital, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that MaineHealth must, in fact, apply for a Certificate of Need for both actions.

A public hearing was held in Boothbay Harbor in December. There still is an underlying question: Does DHHS have the statutory authority to approve a retroactive Certificate of Need? The foundation is still seeking an answer to that question.

There was an article in the Boothbay Register in which the President of the Board of Trustees of LincolnHealth Jeff Curtis suggested that if DHHS required 24/7 urgent care, LCH would not be financially able to expand St. Andrews Village in order to provide the needed skilled nursing beds.

The fact is that with the commissioner’s decision to rescind the 24/7 urgent care, there should be no problem financing the expansion at St. Andrews Village. LCH has applied for that Certificate of Need, and the foundation invites members of the community to join us in Augusta to testify in favor of the project.

The rumor: A more recent article submitted by Lincoln County Healthcare in the Register, states that “thanks to a $1,100,000 gift from philanthropist Paul Coulombe, Lincoln County Healthcare has announced plans to develop a regional center for health and wellness on the St. Andrews campus.”

Apparently people in the community came away from that article believing that Mr. Coulombe made the gift to the Health and Wellness Foundation because members of the foundation have been approached and congratulated.

Just to set the record straight, the gift was given to Lincoln County Healthcare. The foundation is pleased that Mr. Coulombe has made this gift to the community and that he recognizes, as we do, that “activities that engage and connect people, young and old, are the foundation for a strong, healthy, and vibrant community.”

As time passes, the foundation will continue to work to identify and support additional needed services in the region. We invite you to join us in this effort.