Barring a last minute miracle, the battle to Save St. Andrews Hospital appears to have been lost.

Officially, the hospital hasn’t closed. St. Andrews’ Medicare provider number and its hospital license will survive the change.

But on October 1, those functions that made St. Andrews a hospital, round-the-clock emergency care and in-bed patient care, will cease to exist.

The blue “H” roadway signs scattered around this peninsula will come down. A new sign, LincolnHealth, the name of the St. Andrews/Miles Memorial merged hospital entity, will replace the familiar St. Andrews Hospital sign.

Over the last year, this change in local healthcare has caused a great deal of strife, worry, heated public debate and has even spawned a new nonprofit organization.

The merits of, and reasons for, the coming changes have been debated for months. Now, no matter what one’s viewpoint, the changes are about to become real.

In the coming weeks, this newspaper will provide some essential information for the post October 1 world.

Emergency services

Lincoln County Healthcare VP Stacey Miller said ambulances will stop bringing patients to St. Andrews Hospital at 12:01 a.m. on October 1. The St. Andrews ER staff will stay on through the night, however, to care for any patients who arrive on their own. The first time the hospital will close its doors is at 8 p.m. on October 1.

Closing the local ER means residents are likely to be more dependent on ambulance services for emergency care and transport. The Boothbay Region Ambulance Service has three ambulances equipped to the advanced life-saving level and another equipped to the basic life-saving level.

Operations Manager Scott Lash said the service will have two paid crews on duty around the clock after October 1 and then will assess the need to change staff scheduling based on actual call volume.

“Once we get some time under our belts, we can adjust, as needed,” Lash said. “We’re still trying to fill the schedule with qualified staff. It’s a job to find qualified staff.”

Lash said he has heard from some in the community who do not want to be taken to the LincolnHealth ER in Damariscotta (Miles Memorial) and within limits, the ambulance service will honor patient requests to choose their ER destination. 

The decision to bypass the closest appropriate hospital will be dependent upon the patient’s medical status and how busy the ambulance service is, Lash said.

If a patient’s medical condition does not allow the extra travel time or if there is not another ambulance crew available on the peninsula, he said the ambulance crew may not be able to honor the request.

Coming stories in Negotiating the post October 1 world: Where are the hospital beds?, Plans for the St. Andrews Campus, Health and Wellness Foundation digs in