The MaineHealth board of trustees has voted to close the labor and delivery unit at Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta. The decision, made on Thursday, follows several months of deliberation and public opposition. The unit is scheduled to close on December 18, with services being relocated to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, according to a MaineHealth statement.
This closure signifies the twelfth maternity unit in Maine to shut down since 2015. As a result, Lincoln, Waldo, and Sagadahoc counties will lack hospitals with birthing facilities. The decision leaves fewer than half of Maine’s 34 hospitals offering childbirth services.
Prominent figures such as Gov. Janet Mills, U.S. Rep Chellie Pingree, and all three gubernatorial candidates had urged the hospital to defer its decision to close the unit and maintain birthing services in Damariscotta.
The board noted that no other labor and delivery units will be closed by the health system over the next two years. It also called on state lawmakers and the upcoming governor to gather a group of hospitals, doctors, and others to discuss solutions for challenges encountered by labor and delivery units in rural areas.
The decision is attributed to low birth rates and staffing challenges. A statement issued on Thursday emphasized that offering maternity care involves a team of professionals such as physicians, nurses, and anesthesia experts, who must be available 24/7 for routine deliveries and emergencies. MaineHealth management stated they were unable to find a staffing model to provide safe and reliable care in the long term.
The health system described this move as part of a “new regional model,” which integrates OB-GYN services at hospitals in Damariscotta and Brunswick. While Lincoln Hospital will continue prenatal and postpartum care, including ultrasounds, fertility services, and postpartum counseling, it will not offer labor and delivery services. Patients will need to travel to Brunswick or another facility of their choosing to give birth.
The decision comes amid ongoing friction between MaineHealth and community advocates. The Miles Delivers Action Coalition, a grassroots group, was formed after discussions to close the maternity unit surfaced earlier this year. They have questioned the hospital’s rationale, engaged in multiple meetings with MaineHealth leadership, and organized protests, including one in Portland just before the scheduled vote.
Following the board’s decision, the coalition pledged to explore “all available legal, regulatory, legislative, political, and community avenues” to preserve maternity care in Lincoln County. The group argued that a hospital incapable of facilitating births is not a full hospital.
An expecting mother from Lincoln County, due in January, filed a lawsuit against MaineHealth with the help of the Miles Delivers Action Coalition. The lawsuit aimed to postpone the board’s vote. A judge denied an emergency injunction on Thursday because the lawsuit anticipated the vote outcome before it occurred. A request for a permanent injunction to prevent the unit’s closure is still pending.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree expressed disapproval of the decision via a Thursday press release, stating, “MaineHealth had a choice, and I believe they made the wrong one today. Moms, babies, and families in Lincoln County will suffer for it. Women will still be giving birth, just farther from home, with less time to spare and fewer safety nets if something goes wrong.”
Originally published by The Maine Monitor, this story was shared through The Associated Press partnership.