MaineGeneral Health announces 20 layoffs, weeks after CEO anticipated 100

PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) - MaineGeneral Health announced Monday that 20 employees have been laid off, as the health care system said it identified 148 total positions for some type of reduction.

The announcement comes several weeks after MaineGeneral president and CEO Nathan Howell said the health care system expected to lay off 100 employees.

Instead, MaineGeneral Health has offered 60 employees the chance to be reassigned, while 14 employees will have their hours reduced. In addition, the system has 54 unfilled or open positions that will be closed.

Howell said MaineGeneral Health made these changes because of financial challenges that include reimbursements that do not cover the cost of care, excessive insurance denials and increased costs of doing business. He also cited the withholding of MaineCare funding by the state, which has an impact of about $600,000 per week.

“We cannot continue with ‘business as usual.’ There are no easy, painless cuts left to make, or easy revenue streams to tap into,” Howell said in a statement. “While we continue to look to create more revenue, we must make reductions in discretionary spending, labor and benefits and programming. The immediate goal is to identify $30 million in savings. Every effort has been made to minimize the impact to our employees, patients and our community.”

On top of the staffing changes, Howell announced MaineGeneral Health will be making a handful of service changes.

The inpatient Physical Rehab Unit at the Alfond Center for Health in Augusta will convert to medical/surgical beds on May 8 in an effort to increase inpatient capacity. Howell said MaineGeneral’s medical/surgical beds are currently at 98% capacity, and the imminent closure of Northern Light Inland Hospital will create a bigger demand for those beds. MaineGeneral Health will work to reorganize its rehabilitation services and transition patients to meet their needs with other existing services, such as outpatient rehab, home care and rehab and long-term care at Gray Birch and Glenridge.

Other service changes include Workplace Health having reduced services at the Thayer Center for Health in Waterville starting June 2; MaineGeneral Rheumatology and MaineGeneral Neurology moving from 15 Enterprise Drive in Augusta to 442 Civic Center Drive this summer; Anticoagulation and Diabetes & Nutrition clinics will be operating four days per week instead of five; and some services not related to health care will be scaled back, including reduced cafeteria offerings at the Thayer Center for Health and the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care, as well as the closure of the Alfond Center for Health’s gift shop.

Howell said spending freezes across departments through the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2025, will save approximately $4.2 million.