Dear Editor:

Under no circumstances has the Boothbay Region Health and Wellness Foundation given up on the fight to Save St. Andrews. Just last week Selectman Stuart Smith; Tom Tavenner, attorney; Patty Seybold, President Pro Tem of the Foundation; and I sat at the table with Gov. Paul LePage.

Our scheduled 20-minute appointment turned into an hour of robust conversation. We found the governor to be very personable and extremely well versed on healthcare issues in Maine.

The conversation focused on: why MaineHealth should monopolize healthcare in the state and how is it that big corporate monopolies (nonprofits) can ignore the interests of the people they serve. The governor’s ears perked up as we discussed the devastating impact the closure of our hospital will have on our local economy: loss of jobs, real estate taxes increasing and property values decreasing.

The main purpose for our visit was to appeal to the governor to help in any way he can to stop MaineHealth from stealing our Medicare Critical Access Hospital designation by moving it to Damariscotta.

A majority of people in the four towns on our peninsula want St. Andrews to remain open in Boothbay Harbor. They voted 87 percent in favor of keeping our local CAH and ER. If this is what the people want, why does the CEO of MaineHealth get to decide whether St. Andrews should close?

Our visit was all about having the voice of the people heard. We spoke openly and honestly on your behalf and your governor listened intently. He expressed that he and Holly Lusk, his senior health policy advisor, would both look into our situation and help in any way they could.

We have not, for one second, given up. I, personally, will fight until September 30, even if I have to chain myself to the front doors … you have my word on that!

Jane B. Good
Southport