Dear Editor:

The decision by the state regarding the continued existence of St. Andrews as a healthcare facility should be seen as a challenge to the community. The state’s decision was to keep the urgent care center open 24 hours a day for 18 months, while looking at the financial aspects of costs-verses-income. If it loses money, it could close in as little as 18 months’ time.

The decision to change from a hospital to an urgent care center was strictly economic. The decision to close will be economic. If the people in the region want to have ongoing healthcare within our community, the people need to vote with their feet and thusly their wallets and stay in community for as much of their healthcare needs as they can receive here.

The decreased availability of healthcare services locally with the closure of the ER and patient care, along with the national trend towards the consolidation of services into larger facilities, will adversely affect all healthcare providers in the community. Recruitment of new providers will be become more difficult as patients leave our community for more and more services

As a 15-year member of Medicare’s Carrier Advisory committee, the committee often looked at quality of care issues verse costs of those services and location of those services. What the committee generally saw was that quality and cost had no relationship; small or rural facilities could provide equal or better care sometimes then large or urban facilities.

As a healthcare provider and someone with heart disease, my heart surgery was done at Lehey Clinic outside Boston because of need. My ongoing care routine care and occasion emergency care has been through St. Andrews. While St. Andrews certainly could not do my surgery, the quality of care I have received from St. Andrews, my PCP and cardiologist has been exemplary, better than at Lehey.

If the community wishes to continue to have viable healthcare services, we all need to support the health services that are available now. Additionally, buy locally, support area businesses. In the end we will of benefit by supporting each other.

Thomas P. Nadeau, O.D.
Boothbay Harbor