Following more than a year of negotiations, all of Portland-based MaineHealth's member organizations have agreed to unify and allow a single board of trustees to govern the entire institution, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Here are six things to know about the proposed unification plan.
1. The health system's member organizations began voting on the proposed unification plan Nov. 2. Voting concluded on Thursday, with all members approving unification.
2. Under the proposed restructuring, the 10 local governing boards will not be dissolved. Instead, they will become committees of the centralized board of trustees and will be responsible for formulating budgets, overseeing the quality of care provided by each member institution and handling physician credentialing, among other responsibilities.
3. At least one member of each local governing board will maintain a seat on the centralized board for five years, the report states.
4. In addition to operating under a single board of trustees, the member organizations also agreed to jointly operate under a $2.5 billion budget, Maine Public reports.
5. Health system officials said the revised structure, which will likely go into effect in January 2018, will allow MaineHealth to more easily transfer funds from one member organization to another.
6. The proposal is still subject to review by MaineHealth and its members.