Another Maine health care provider is shutting down.
The Gray Family Health Center is expected to close on March 6, according to a letter obtained by CBS 13.
Now, patients like Sheryl Flament have to find someplace else for medical care.
“I feel sorry for people who live in the area,” Flament said.
Flament got a letter in the mail last week saying Gray Family Health Center will close in two months.
“It’s frustrating to me in the whole health care system. There’s just so many things being abolished, not being done, referrals not being followed up,” Flament said.
If patients want to keep their doctors, Central Maine Healthcare said they have to either follow them or find a new provider. On the health system’s website, it says two doctors will relocate to Topsham Family Medicine, which is about 24 miles away. Patients with appointments after March 6 will remain scheduled at the new location.
CBS 13 asked Central Maine Healthcare why Gray Family Health Center is closing. A spokesperson referred us to a statement on its website, but a reason for the closure is not provided.
The closure comes as Maine faces a health care provider shortage.
According to the Cicero Institute, a public policy organization, 13 out of Maine’s 16 counties do not have enough doctors. Its data claims the patient-to-provider ratio in these counties are greater than 3,500 to 1.
For every facility that closes, it leaves patients like Flament scrambling to find another doctor.
“Our health care system has really gone down the sewer, and everybody knows it. Insurance rates are skyrocketing, and we’re just not getting in return what we’re paying for,” Flament said.