Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Officials with the 25-bed critical access facility say it will remain open and operate as usual as it works to restructure legacy debt that has been accrued over the years.
“Upgrades, facility changes and additional things of that sort,” says CEO Crystal Landry.
Landry says the hospital is feeling ripple effects from the closure in 2015 of the community’s largest employer, Lincoln Paper and Tissue, which include high unemployment, loss of commercial health insurance coverage and more.
“People traveling outside of the region to seek employment, and as they travel outside the region they typically seek medical care closer to wherever they’re working,” she says.
Landry says, in the past four years, Penobscot Valley Hospital has seen a 65 percent decline in in-patient admissions and an overall 10 percent drop in patient volume.
Landry says there are no layoffs or service changes planned during the bankruptcy process, which is expected to take 12-18 months.
