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MaineHealth Votes To Unify Member Organizations Under Single Board

It’s official — the members of MaineHealth will be unified under a single board as of Jan. 1.

Community members who oversee the nonprofit, known as corporators, voted Wednesday afternoon in favor of the change.

Maine Medical Center President Richard Peterson says bringing members into a single organization will make it easier for resources to flow among MaineHealth’s community hospitals, which are under increasing financial pressure.

“This new structure is not just about becoming bigger, it’s about becoming better at what we do,” he says. “We believe strongly this model will allows us to properly allocate resources to communities throughout Maine in the areas that we serve in a more efficient fashion.”

The new, combined entity, which includes health care organizations spanning from Biddeford and Farmington to Belfast, will have approximately 19,000 employees and more than $3 billion in annual revenues.

Peterson says members will retain local boards to oversee care delivery.

“We have significant representation on the new board, representing those communities. And actually the local boards that are in existence today will continue,” he says.