CMS has granted preliminary approval for Lincoln County Healthcare, based in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, to merge its Boothbay critical access hospital, St. Andrews Hospital, into Miles Memorial Hospital located 30 minutes away in Damariscotta, Maine, while retaining its critical access status, according to a report by the Wiscasset Newspaper.
Lincoln closed the emergency department at St. Andrews and hoped to keep its critical hospital status by merging it with its sister campus in Damariscotta. The CMS ruling allows Lincoln to run both facilities under a single critical access hospital license, while converting St. Andrews into an urgent care center. Lincoln CEO Jim Donovan estimated the move could add $3.5 million to $6 million in federal payments to the system each year.
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