This story will be updated.
Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville is closing in June, the health care system announced Thursday.
Patient care will stop May 27, with the full closure to take place June 11, Northern Light Health said.
Closing the 48-bed hospital is the biggest change for the floundering health system, which in recent months has been navigating decreasing credit ratings, administrative changes and outsourcing of jobs.
The February credit downgrade means the system will likely struggle to find lending, let alone lending with favorable terms, an expert told the Bangor Daily News previously.
Northern Light Continuing Care Lakewood, a 105-bed, long-term care facility in Waterville, will remain open.
Walk-in care at Inland Hospital closed at noon Thursday, the hospital said on Facebook. No reason was provided but it said it will reopen at 8 a.m. Friday.
Obstetrics and gynecology services at the hospital ended March 1, for what the hospital called “ongoing recruiting challenges.” Outpatient services in Oakland, Madison and Unity were scheduled to be consolidated starting in March.
It’s unclear what will happen to staff, but they will be “connected to new opportunities,” the system said.
Waterville, which had a population of nearly 16,000 people during the 2020 U.S. Census, will still have a hospital and emergency room. MaineGeneral runs the Thayer Center for Health at 149 North St.
About 30 minutes north of Waterville is the Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital, which operates an emergency room 24/7. MaineGeneral also runs a hospital in Augusta.
Inland Hospital opened in 1943 and became a part of Northern Light in 1998, according to its website.
