BRUNSWICK
The proposed sale of Parkview Adventist Medical Center to Mid Coast Health Services was approved by a federal bankruptcy court judge on Thursday, paving the way for the continued integration of the two Brunswick health institutions.
In June, Parkview filed for Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland. Under Chapter 11, the hospital is given the opportunity to restructure its debt or to seek other lines of capital.
Parkview submitted a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan that had Mid Coast Health Services acquire Parkview. That acquisition plan was approved by the court and the sale was scheduled for Thursday.
Hospital officials were scheduled today to appear at the newly renamed Parkview Medical Center to describe their “new shared vision,” according to a press release.
“This day marks the beginning of a bright new era for health care in our community,” said Lois Skillings, president and CEO of Mid Coast Health, in the release. “Until now, our two organizations independently faced the ever-increasing challenges arising from a changing landscape in health-care delivery. And now, our unified vision will allow us to preserve the mission of our two beloved organizations; delivering outstanding health care and improving the health of the community.”
Parkview’s former President and CEO Randee Reynolds has been appointed to the organization’s leadership team as vice president of Community Health Integration.
“We are extremely enthusiastic about today’s news,” Reynolds said in the release. “In order to offer the best care for our patients and the community, Parkview Adventist Medical Center decided to create a lasting vision with Mid Coast Health that will better serve our region’s health-care needs, now and in the future. We believe that our shared vision will drive substantial progress on a number of fronts, including access to care, quality of care, patient experience, lower costs and improved community health and wellness. One of the many reasons we are so pleased with the Mid Coast partnership is that the focus on health and wellness on the campus actually grows more distinct, not less so. From the perspective of the Seventhday Adventist religion, this means that the areas that we care so much about as a church will continue going forward.”
In June, both Mid Coast and Parkview boards voted unanimously to move ahead with the integration pending court approval.
At that time, the Mid Coast board also approved changing the name of their health system to Mid Coast- Parkview Health. The name of Mid Coast Hospital will stay the same. The campus at Parkview Adventist Medical Center will be called Parkview Medical Center, and all services will function under the license of Mid Coast Hospital from a regulatory perspective.
Skillings said, “Now that we have approval, we will continue the transition to realign services that began in June, when inpatient and emergency services moved from the Parkview campus to Mid Coast Hospital.”
Skillings said all full- and part-time employees of Parkview have been invited to continue with the new organization. In the coming weeks and months, some of the outpatient services at Mid Coast will be moved to Parkview where they will provide community health and wellness programs and physician practices.
According to Skillings, outpatient services such as medical oncology, hematology and infusion services, laboratory and X-ray, ambulatory surgery, speech, physical and occupational therapy will remain at Parkview. She said the Parkview campus will also continue to provide the faith-based practices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Skillings said, “The support from the community since the news of the plan for Mid Coast and Parkview to come together has been overwhelmingly positive. Local businesses and people who live and work in our region will benefit from increased access to lower health-care costs which are essential to our local economy and quality of life here in the Mid-coast region.”
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