Dear Editor:

As I sit on my bed at Maine Med awaiting discharge, I wanted to thank the staff and medics at St. Andrews for the excellent care I received and for prepping me for my trip to MMC. Having a hospital a mile from my home made a huge difference between me having a successful recovery from my heart attacks, versus all of the less opportune outcomes. 

When I arrived at St. Andrews, the wonderful Dr. Pelletier told me that she believed that I'd had a heart attack. She said it wasn't "the big one” and even though the first test was negative, she'd feel better if I was looked at Maine Med. As they were getting me prepared for the ambulance ride, Dr. Pelletier said, "Now, you are having 'the Big One.'" So they stabilized me, then I got an ambulance ride with sirens, cutting through summertime Midcoast Route 1 traffic.

The prep work I received at St. Andrews, without a doubt, saved my heart from some serious damage. The care I received from the St. Andrews staff is unparalleled. It’ll be great if you can plan your emergencies around the proposed hours of the urgent care unit, but what if you don’t?

We need our small hospital. No they aren’t Maine Medical, but we don’t need them to be. Our hospital’s financials are fine, the care is wonderful, and the proximity is where we need it.

While at MMC, I learned that another young neighbor was just a couple of doors down the hall from me. He had arrived at the St. Andrews ER at 3 a.m. with chest pains from a heart attack. He wasn’t sure that he was having one, but drove over and was stabilized and shipped off to MMC.

Let’s keep our hospital open.  It is one of the many great attributes of the area. LCHC has great people working for them, but our hospital needs to remain where it is, and provide the emergency services and warm healthcare that has been its legacy for the last 100 years.

Michael J. Mayhew
Boothbay Harbor