Dear Editor:

Closing the emergency room at St. Andrews Hospital does not make sense, even though it may be costly to keep it open. There is a growing market for these services. More seniors are retiring here every year. New public facilities are attracting more tourists and workers: world-class operations like Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and Bigelow Laboratories. Closing the ER (and in time perhaps the hospital) would make this a less attractive destination and less desirable place to live.

St. Andrews is not an out-dated facility. As recently as 2002, my wife Lyn and I were asked to help support a $6 million capital campaign to expand the hospital’s surgical and other facilities. With three months to go, they were still $1.5 million short. We agreed to offer a $500,000 challenge grant if they raised an additional $1,000,000. The challenge succeeded. The goal was met. And a new hospital wing was built.

The people who love the Boothbay region are capable of doing great things when asked to. If we can create a CMBG and a Bigelow, we should be able to save an even more critical resource to our area: our local hospital and emergency room.

Often the difference between success and failure comes down to something as simple as creative leadership. Now is the time for our state and local officials to step up and provide that leadership!

Dan Lerner
Boothbay Harbor