AUGUSTA, Maine — The new superintendent of the Riverview Psychiatric Hospital hopes to eliminate mandated extra hours for workers once he completes additional hiring.
Rodney Bouffard tells the Kennebec Journal that hiring over the next four to six weeks is one of the first steps to "moving the place in the right direction."
Bouffard was superintendent when Riverview was known as the Augusta Mental Health Institute in the 1990s. The 64-year-old moved to the Department of Corrections before being returning to lead Riverview after the resignation of Superintendent Jay Harper.
There have been persistent complaints of a staffing crisis, and the hospital lost its certification by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.