Northern Light Health is closing outpatient offices around Waterville and consolidating services to the Inland Hospital campus, the health system announced Thursday.
Patients in need of primary care, physical therapy and cardiovascular care will now have to drive farther for services. The outpatient services will be moved to the Northern Light Inland Hospital campus in the coming months.
The consolidation comes on the heels of Northern Light ending labor and delivery services at the Waterville hospital. It is another cost saving measure for the health care system that has had significant credit rating downgrades, multiple resignations from top administrators and the outsourcing of roughly 500 jobs in the last few months.
About 15 people will lose their jobs because of the consolidation, spokesperson Suzanne Spruce said. The health care system expects many of those people will find jobs within the company in other open roles.
Consolidating the locations help with overhead costs while preserving local health care, Northern Light said. It reduces the number of leased properties and the cost of operating multiple sites.
Birthing services end March 1. That same month, endocrinology and diabetes care will move to the Inland Hospital campus.
In April the physical therapy and rehabilitation clinics in Madison and Unity will move to the campus. Those patients will face a roughly 30-minute drive to Waterville.
Cardiovascular care, including diagnostics and rehabilitation, will move in June.
All three offices will relocate to the Medical Arts Building at 180 Kennedy Memorial Drive. Suite numbers are not yet known.
The Northern Light Primary Care practice in Oakland will move to the campus in May, relocating to 246 Kennedy Memorial Drive.
Staff will work with current patients to prepare them for the move.
“Consolidating practices and bringing more members of our clinical team together creates a deeper bench of providers to support one another and deliver patient care, creating more consistent coverage for patient appointments,” said Randy Clark, president of Northern Light Inland and Sebasticook Valley hospitals.
