The Houlton Regional Hospital registered nurses bargaining unit on Thursday hand-delivered to the president of the hospital’s Board of Trustees a signed letter of no confidence in the hospital’s CEO, Jeff Zewe.
The facility’s registered nurses, who are represented by the Maine State Nurses Association, part of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, have been working without a contract since the previous one expired on Nov. 30, 2024.
The no confidence letter comes on the heels of a four-day strike in May, the second strike in six months.
On Thursday, the nurses’ union did not provide to the Bangor Daily News the specific concerns expressed in the letter to Board President Lynette McLaughlin.
The nurses said in a joint statement to the BDN from five nurses – Tori Quint, RN operating room, Tenille Nason, RN emergency department, Mary Howland, RN acute care, Erin Mitchell, RN emergency department, and Cassidy Hardy, RN, acute care – that the union has given the board time to address their concerns noted in the letter.
“Nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital care deeply about our community and the care provided at Houlton Regional Hospital,” they said. “We are urging the Board of Trustees to take action now.”
In a subsequent letter to the community that did not address the union letter of no confidence, Board President McLaughlin said the board of trustees remains committed to listening to employee concerns and working collaboratively with clinical teams.
“Our priority remains clear: to increase access, provide high quality, accessible healthcare to the
people of this region while building a sustainable future for Houlton Regional Hospital,” McLaughlin said in the letter.
McLaughlin said that prior to Zewe’s leadership role at HRH that began in June 2025, the hospital faced significant financial and operational challenges.
“The hospital had approximately one day cash on hand and was on the brink of filing for bankruptcy. Unpaid obligations threatened disruptions in critical supplies and services, placing the stability of care at risk,” she said.
The hospital closed the labor, delivery and post-partum unit in May 2025. In June, the Board of Trustees took decisive action by entering into a Management Services Agreement with Northern Maine Medical Center, McLaughlin said.
Under the agreement, the Fort Kent hospital’s president and CEO, Jeff Zewe, and Chief Financial Officer Aaron Teachout took on the same roles in Houlton.
Gina Brown, who has worked at the Houlton hospital for 40 years, is the chief operating officer.
Over the past 13 months, HRH has undergone a substantial turnaround, McLaughlin said.
“The organization has restored operational stability, strengthened financial footing, and expanded access to care across the region,” she said.
While the issues stated in the letter of no confidence have not been released, the continued sticking points between the union and management center on registered nurses’ concerns about understaffing in the emergency department and intermediate care unit.
During the May strike, several nurses said that when the hospital’s labor, delivery and post-partum unit closed, management laid off 12 nurses, but agreed to staffing three nurses in emergency care. When Zewe took over, that was off the table, they said.
Also at issue is a union concern that the hospital wants to remove from a new contract the safe staffing language defining patient care standards that has been in previous contracts.
The safe staffing language sets a bottom limit for staff on duty, the union said.
During the May strike in Houlton, many nurses talked about a dire need for three nurses in the emergency department at all times because emergency departments by nature are unpredictable and often need more than two nurses.
If someone comes in and needs CPR, or other life saving interventions, two nurses cannot handle the demands of balancing critical actions such as calling life flight, giving medications, staying with the patient bedside, and comforting a grieving family, they said.
In May, hospital officials said that “nursing leadership works extremely hard every day and every shift to ensure that safe staffing is achieved. Due to this diligence, the nurse-to-patient assignments are well within national benchmarks.”
The union nurses at the time questioned the hospital’s reference to meeting national benchmarks because they said none currently exist.
In Maine there are no laws dictating nurse-to-patient ratios. In January, the national Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals set a new safe staffing standard with the addition of National Patient Safety Goal 12. It does not specify nurse to patient ratios, but instead hospitals must demonstrate continuous registered nurse coverage and support staff to meet patient needs.
In Thursday’s letter, McLaughlin said that in the past 13 months the hospital has invested over $2 million in advanced imaging equipment, made significant upgrades to the operating room and sterilization equipment and that they are adding new jobs.
Throughout recent labor actions, the union maintains that nurses are standing up for their patients and that a strong contract protects nurses, patients and attracts and retains staff.
