SANFORD, Maine — Goodall Hospital has won state approval to become part of MaineHealth, the parent organization to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
The approval from Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew is the final regulatory step for the 58-bed York County hospital to join the MaineHealth system, which also includes Southern Maine Medical Center and nine other hospital and health care organizations.
“The changing landscape of government reimbursement, skyrocketing costs, increasing regulation and a drive to improve quality is paving the way for many small hospitals to seek membership in larger systems,” Patsy Aprile, president and CEO of Goodall Hospital, said in a press release announcing the DHHS approval. “Our board and our management team did their homework and decided that MaineHealth was the best option for us.”
Founded in 1928, Goodall includes primary and specialty care physician groups, assisted living facilities and outpatient services in Sanford, Kennebunk and Waterboro.
Goodall’s membership in the MaineHealth system will improve patient care, lead to cost savings and ensure that quality health care continues to be available in the hospital’s region, Bill Caron, president of MaineHealth, said in the release.
MaineHealth notified DHHS in January of its plans to become Goodall’s parent company.
Mayhew’s approval followed a recommendation by the certificate of need unit at DHHS, which evaluates hospital and health care projects, that the deal move forward. The recommendation stipulated that the deal was subject to a determination by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission that it doesn’t trigger a waiting period under federal antitrust law.
Since 1996, MaineHealth, the state’s largest health care organization, has brought eight hospitals, two home health agencies and a hospital support organization into its system.
Goodall is the latest hospital in Maine pursuing a change of ownership. Central Maine Healthcare and Mid Coast Hospital are jockeying to take over Parkview Adventist Medical Center in Brunswick, while Portland’s Mercy Health System of Maine has announced plans to be acquired by a for-profit Massachusetts chain.