MaineHealth Board Votes to Close Maternity Unit at Lincoln Hospital

The MaineHealth board of trustees decided on Thursday to shut down the labor and delivery unit at MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta. The closure is scheduled for December 18, and services will transfer to MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, according to the health system’s statement. This closure marks the 12th maternity unit closed in Maine since 2015, leaving three counties—Lincoln, Waldo, and Sagadahoc—without hospitals that provide birthing services. This change means less than half of Maine’s 34 hospitals will offer maternity care.

Significant figures, including Governor Janet Mills, U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree, and all three gubernatorial candidates, urged the hospital to delay its decision and maintain birthing services in Damariscotta.

In their statement, the board assured that no further labor and delivery units will shut down in the next two years. They also called on state lawmakers and the future governor to gather hospitals, doctors, and other stakeholders to find solutions for the issues facing rural labor and delivery units. The health system stated the closure is due to low birth rates and recruiting challenges. “Providing maternity care demands a team of professionals available to handle routine and emergency deliveries at any time,” the Thursday press release mentioned. Management could not devise a staffing model to ensure long-term safe and reliable care.

The health system described a transition to a “new regional model,” connecting OB-GYN services in Damariscotta and Brunswick. Lincoln Hospital will offer prenatal and postpartum care, such as ultrasounds, fertility services, and counseling. The hospital will expand gynecologic outpatient and surgical services but will not provide labor and delivery services. Patients will need to go to the Brunswick hospital or another preferred location for delivery.

Tensions rose between MaineHealth and community organizers like the Miles Delivers Action Coalition. This grassroots group was formed when plans to close the maternity unit surfaced earlier in the year. They contested the hospital’s closure reasoning, frequently met with leadership to argue against it, and organized protests, including a recent demonstration in Portland. The group pledged to pursue all possible legal, regulatory, legislative, political, and community channels to defend maternity care in Lincoln County. They stated, “A hospital where you can no longer be born is hardly a hospital at all.”

A pregnant woman from Lincoln County, due in January, filed a lawsuit with the Coalition’s support against MaineHealth on Wednesday, attempting to stop the board vote. A judge denied the request for a preliminary injunction on Thursday. The judge indicated the lawsuit presumed the board would vote to shut the unit, although the vote was not finalized when the lawsuit was filed. The case also seeks a permanent injunction to prevent the hospital from closing its maternity unit, which remains unresolved.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree criticized the board’s decision in a press release. She stated, “MaineHealth had a choice, and they made the wrong one today. Moms, babies, and families in Lincoln County will suffer as a result. Women will still give birth but further from home, with less time available and fewer safety nets if complications arise.”