MaineGeneral Medical Center, based in Augusta, Maine, has filed a certificate of need request to build a new hospital in north Augusta to replace is current facility, according to a report by the Morning Sentinel.
The new facility is expected to cost $322 million and would consolidate all inpatient services at the medical center's existing Augusta and Waterville, Maine, facilities, according to the report.
The consolidation is intended to improve the efficiency of care and help attract and retain physicians. With two facilities, physicians at MaineGeneral are required to be on call twice as often as colleagues at other facilities, according to the report.
If the certificate of need is approved, MaineGeneral would convert its Waterville facility to an outpatient care center offering emergency services.
The hospital now must await approval for the project from the state's Department of Health and Human Services and is expected to take at least 150 days, according to the report.
Read the Morning Sentinel's report on the proposed MaineGeneral replacement facility.
The new facility is expected to cost $322 million and would consolidate all inpatient services at the medical center's existing Augusta and Waterville, Maine, facilities, according to the report.
The consolidation is intended to improve the efficiency of care and help attract and retain physicians. With two facilities, physicians at MaineGeneral are required to be on call twice as often as colleagues at other facilities, according to the report.
If the certificate of need is approved, MaineGeneral would convert its Waterville facility to an outpatient care center offering emergency services.
The hospital now must await approval for the project from the state's Department of Health and Human Services and is expected to take at least 150 days, according to the report.
Read the Morning Sentinel's report on the proposed MaineGeneral replacement facility.