Latest news with #MaineGeneralHealth
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maine kids face long wait for specialized care after clinic closes in Augusta
May 27—Sara Wing said her 11-year-old daughter needs to see a specialist who can make a diagnosis because she suspects her daughter has a developmental disability. Such a diagnosis would unlock Medicaid services and likely result in her daughter getting extra help at school. But Wing said when the Edmund Ervin Pediatric Center at MaineGeneral Health in Augusta closed on May 16 — a move that blindsided her — it left her with no access to someone who can make that diagnosis. Primary care doctors often don't have the necessary specialized expertise and rely instead on places like the Ervin Center. "It's devastating. I don't know what we are going to do," said Wing, who lives in Waterville. Everywhere she turns to try to seek a diagnosis for 11-year-old Kenzie, Wing finds yearslong waiting lists. Wing said Kenzie has anxiety and social issues and needs extra help. Wing said she believes her children — Kenzie and 8-year-old Amy — missed out on learning crucial social skills during the pandemic, with school shut down or on a curtailed schedule. "There's a whole group of kids behind on their social skills, who have mental health issues, and now one of the only places where you can get a diagnosis closed," Wing said MaineGeneral announced on May 5 that it was closing the Ervin Center because of low reimbursement rates from MaineCare, the state's name for Medicaid. Also, insurance denials and other increased costs made some of the center's programs financially unsustainable, hospital officials said. While most of the Ervin Center's services were folded into other parts of MaineGeneral Health, certain psychological services were closed, including diagnostics and a Pediatric Rapid Evaluation Program serving foster children. Hospital officials said they were losing $1 million per year on the programs. Nancy Cronin, executive director of the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, is leading an effort to allocate $2.5 million in Medicaid funding over the next two years to stand up a program or persuade MaineGeneral to agree to a fully-funded bridge program. Cronin said in the long term, she envisions a mobile unit that would travel all over the state to get children properly diagnosed. The solutions are in the early discussion phase, and could include legislation or a reallocation of current resources by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS provided a written statement saying it is exploring options. "The department is deeply committed to ensuring that children with developmental disabilities have access to the care and services they need," it said. " While we cannot speak to specific funding proposals at this time, our focus remains on supporting families and maintaining access to critical services. We are actively reviewing how best to address gaps in services within existing resources and are exploring potential options to support children and families affected by this transition." Cronin said the loss of the Ervin Center is creating a gap of about 650 such diagnoses per year, and will result in a proliferation of yearslong waitlists. Cronin said there's no precise accounting of the demand, but thousands of children need to be diagnosed every year, and currently, waitlists are expanding. "Without a diagnosis, these kids can't qualify for Medicaid services," Cronin said. Many students who would qualify for special education or other school services will not be able to gain eligibility for those programs. And Cronin said an official diagnosis is needed for mental health and developmental services that extend past the school day. Gay Ann McDonald, executive director of the Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities, said that evaluations used for a school-based Individualized Education Program are not medical diagnoses. McDonald said in a written statement that "educational evaluations ordered by the IEP team are not intended to serve as a diagnostic medical tool." Medical evaluations outside of the school setting "are funded through separate mechanisms and often assess much broader areas of need, such as in-home support, community-based therapy or medical services and are beyond the educational needs of a child." Carrie Woodcock, executive director of the Maine Parent Federation advocacy group, said that with the added bottlenecks created by the Ervin Center closing, some services will be "completely inaccessible." "This is going to leave families with no place to go," Woodcock said. Cronin has built a coalition of 15 nonprofits advocating to reopen some services. Joy McKenna, spokeswoman for MaineGeneral, said that hospital officials appreciate efforts to revive the program. "However, we are wary of a temporary fix that will not solve the program's critical structural issues," McKenna said. "These services need adequate, sustainable funding to meet the needs of children and families." Wing, the Waterville mother, said it took a lot of effort and "jumping through a lot of hoops" to get Medicaid developmental services for her younger daughter. As a result, Amy can use noise-canceling headphones and get extra help at school, and she has also learned how to cope with anxiety and other social skills. While Amy is getting the help she needs now, Wing said she's worried her daughter's future needs may not be addressed with the cutbacks. "A lot of people don't realize that Edmund Ervin was the only place to get some of these services," Wing said. "It teaches them coping skills and how to be in life, and that's what my kids need, and what many kids need." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Closure of Augusta pediatric clinic creates long waitlists for children with developmental needs
May 27—Sara Wing said her 11-year-old daughter needs to see a specialist who can make a diagnosis because she suspects her daughter has a developmental disability. Such a diagnosis would unlock Medicaid services and likely result in her daughter getting extra help at school. But Wing said when the Edmund Ervin Pediatric Center at MaineGeneral Health in Augusta closed on May 16 — a move that blindsided her — it left her with no access to someone who can make that diagnosis. Primary care doctors often don't have the necessary specialized expertise and rely instead on places like the Ervin Center. "It's devastating. I don't know what we are going to do," said Wing, who lives in Waterville. Everywhere she turns to try to seek a diagnosis for 11-year-old Kenzie, Wing finds yearslong waiting lists. Wing said Kenzie has anxiety and social issues and needs extra help. Wing said she believes her children — Kenzie and 8-year-old Amy — missed out on learning crucial social skills during the pandemic, with school shut down or on a curtailed schedule. "There's a whole group of kids behind on their social skills, who have mental health issues, and now one of the only places where you can get a diagnosis closed," Wing said MaineGeneral announced on May 5 that it was closing the Ervin Center because of low reimbursement rates from MaineCare, the state's name for Medicaid. Also, insurance denials and other increased costs made some of the center's programs financially unsustainable, hospital officials said. While most of the Ervin Center's services were folded into other parts of MaineGeneral Health, certain psychological services were closed, including diagnostics and a Pediatric Rapid Evaluation Program serving foster children. Hospital officials said they were losing $1 million per year on the programs. Nancy Cronin, executive director of the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, is leading an effort to allocate $2.5 million in Medicaid funding over the next two years to stand up a program or persuade MaineGeneral to agree to a fully-funded bridge program. Cronin said in the long term, she envisions a mobile unit that would travel all over the state to get children properly diagnosed. The solutions are in the early discussion phase, and could include legislation or a reallocation of current resources by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Officials at DHHS did not respond to questions for this story last week. Cronin said the loss of the Ervin Center is creating a gap of about 650 such diagnoses per year, and will result in a proliferation of yearslong waitlists. Cronin said there's no precise accounting of the demand, but thousands of children need to be diagnosed every year, and currently, waitlists are expanding. "Without a diagnosis, these kids can't qualify for Medicaid services," Cronin said. Many students who would qualify for special education or other school services will not be able to gain eligibility for those programs. And Cronin said an official diagnosis is needed for mental health and developmental services that extend past the school day. Gay Ann McDonald, executive director of the Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities, said that evaluations used for a school-based Individualized Education Program are not medical diagnoses. McDonald said in a written statement that "educational evaluations ordered by the IEP team are not intended to serve as a diagnostic medical tool." Medical evaluations outside of the school setting "are funded through separate mechanisms and often assess much broader areas of need, such as in-home support, community-based therapy or medical services and are beyond the educational needs of a child." Carrie Woodcock, executive director of the Maine Parent Federation advocacy group, said that with the added bottlenecks created by the Ervin Center closing, some services will be "completely inaccessible." "This is going to leave families with no place to go," Woodcock said. Cronin has built a coalition of 15 nonprofits advocating to reopen some services. Joy McKenna, spokeswoman for MaineGeneral, said that hospital officials appreciate efforts to revive the program. "However, we are wary of a temporary fix that will not solve the program's critical structural issues," McKenna said. "These services need adequate, sustainable funding to meet the needs of children and families." Wing, the Waterville mother, said it took a lot of effort and "jumping through a lot of hoops" to get Medicaid developmental services for her younger daughter. As a result, Amy can use noise-canceling headphones and get extra help at school, and she has also learned how to cope with anxiety and other social skills. While Amy is getting the help she needs now, Wing said she's worried her daughter's future needs may not be addressed with the cutbacks. "A lot of people don't realize that Edmund Ervin was the only place to get some of these services," Wing said. "It teaches them coping skills and how to be in life, and that's what my kids need, and what many kids need." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
MaineGeneral Health cutting mental health, disabilities services for children
May 5—MaineGeneral Health confirmed Monday that it is cutting pediatric psychological services in central Maine — a move advocates say will make it more difficult to access care for children with mental health challenges, autism, attention deficit, and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Nathan Howell, president and CEO of MaineGeneral Health, the parent organization of MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta, said in a written statement on Monday that "PREP and psychological services" at the Edmund Ervin Pediatric Center are closing as of May 16. The Pediatric Rapid Evaluation Program, or PREP, provides services to children recently placed in the foster care system, while psychological services are for a broader pediatric patient mix. Howell said the reasons for the cutbacks are financial, as "health care across Maine and the nation is in a crisis." The cuts are because state "reimbursements do not cover the cost of care, excessive insurance denials and increased costs of doing business." The Ervin center is currently operating at a $1 million annual loss, MaineGeneral said. Nancy Cronin, executive director of the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, a quasi-governmental agency funded by federal and state dollars, said the Ervin center shuttering some of its services will make it difficult for some parents — especially those with MaineCare — to obtain a diagnosis for their child. Without a diagnosis, pediatric patients would not qualify for needed services, Cronin said. "We've lost a huge piece of the puzzle," Cronin said. "It's like a bridge has been blown up." Cronin said over time, beginning in the LePage administration, the state reduced financial support under MaineCare for diagnostic services for children with mental, intellectual and developmental disabilities. Cronin said the cuts have never been restored since Janet Mills became governor in 2019, leading to an erosion in these services. While the MaineGeneral cuts will directly affect families who live in central Maine, Cronin said it follows the loss of services in other parts of the state and that access will become a more acute problem. Cronin is hoping to rally support to provide more robust funding for diagnostic services and for PREP, either by the Mills administration tapping into the state's rainy day fund or through legislation. "What we are doing is creating enormous barriers to get children what they need," Cronin said. "This is going to be a nightmare." Cronin said she does not blame MaineGeneral for the cutbacks, but rather considers it a failure by the state to sufficiently fund the programs. Lindsay Hammes, a Maine Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson, said in a written statement that the agency "is disappointed to learn of MaineGeneral's decision." "It is a business decision made independently by the hospital," Hammes said. "We are reviewing options to support impacted families within existing services." Howell said in his statement that "while we recognize the impact of these changes, we will continue to offer 95% of our current services through our robust pediatric and outpatient rehabilitation service lines." Those services include speech therapy, physical therapy, counseling and medication management. The Edmund Ervin center name will be retired, with the remaining services falling under the MaineGeneral umbrella. The cutbacks come in the wake of a September 2024 lawsuit against the Mills administration by the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to provide adequate behavioral health services to children in the Medicaid program, which is called MaineCare in the state. That lawsuit was settled in November, with the state agreeing to boost services. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MaineGeneral Health to lay off more than 100 workers to address budget shortfalls
Mar. 21—WATERVILLE — More than 100 employees of MaineGeneral Health will be laid off next month as administrators seek to address budget shortfalls caused by the high cost of doing business and declining reimbursements. MaineGeneral Health President and CEO Nathan Howell said Friday that in an effort to be transparent, and with continuing uncertainty related to Northern Light Inland Hospital's planned closure, MaineGeneral informed workers that about 100 people will be laid off in mid-April. It is unclear exactly what positions will be cut in the upcoming layoffs. Asked what departments will be affected, Joy McKenna, MaineGeneral's director of marketing and communications, said officials are "still in the process of identifying those details." McKenna later clarified that MaineGeneral plans to eliminate the equivalent of about 100 full-time positions from its workforce of about 5,000 people. The term "full-time equivalent" combines the hours worked by both full-time and part-time employees into a single, equivalent unit, meaning two half-time employees would comprise a single full-time equivalent position. "A reduction in force is always among the very last actions we want to consider, as our employees are our greatest resources," Howell said in a statement. "However, we need to ensure that we are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible." Northern Light Health announced earlier this month that Inland Hospital, located on Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville, would cease operations May 27, about 300 people would be laid off and the hospital would close June 11. Inland is the only inpatient hospital in Waterville. MaineGeneral Health officials said last week they are working with Northern Light to learn the scope of changes that will occur as part of Inland's closure, including the number of staff and patients who will be affected and how MaineGeneral may be able to take on certain staff and help meet community needs. The Inland closure adds to a complicated, challenging financial situation at MaineGeneral, which is similar to what other hospitals in Maine are facing, officials say. Howell said Friday that the current crisis in MaineCare funding compounds an already tenuous footing for MaineGeneral and other hospitals. "Maine's nonprofit hospitals are challenged by declining reimbursement rates from payers — reimbursement rates are not covering the actual cost of care," he said. "Additionally, we are experiencing excessive denials, especially from Medicare Advantage plans. The cost of doing business is increasing, which is not unique to health care. These are just some of the multiple challenges that we have been facing." "The impact of the partial MaineCare payments that started March 12 (due to failure to pass the supplemental budget), is a financial hit to the health system of approximately $600,000 per week. We need to find a way to mitigate those losses as quickly as possible." Howell said MaineGeneral has been transparent with its nearly 5,000 employees that budget shortfalls must be addressed now and into the next fiscal year, starting July 1. Additional actions planned to help mitigate losses, he said, include putting a hold on employee travel other than what is needed for the services and business of the health system, with no out-of-state travel. MaineGeneral Health is also putting a hold on filling open positions that are not necessary for the provision of health care services; reviewing the remaining budget for the fiscal year and putting a freeze on spending where possible; and putting a hold on providing sponsorship dollars. "We believe doing this difficult work now will set us up for a more financially sustainable future, as we want to remain independent and available to meet the health care needs of our community now and into the future," Howell said. MaineGeneral has many locations throughout central Maine, including the inpatient hospital MaineGeneral Medical Center and the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care, located on the same campus in Augusta, and health care offices and facilities in Gardiner, Hallowell, Belgrade, Winthrop and Fairfield. Thayer Center for Health, Elmwood Primary Care and other offices and practices are located in Waterville. Contacted Friday, Jessica Picard, communications director for the Maine Department of Labor, said that due to confidentiality rules, the department can neither confirm nor deny whether a company has notified the DOL of layoffs. But DOL does post Worker Adjustment & Retraining Act, or WARN notices it receives. Such notices are required in certain circumstances, and the department reaches out to offer rapid response services for affected workers. The WARN Act is a federal law requiring employers to give advance notice to workers facing a plant closure or mass layoff. The advance notices gives workers and their families transition time to adjust to the prospective loss of employment, seek and find other jobs and, with help from the local workforce development areas, receive skill training or retraining to allow them to compete in the job market. WARN requires that a 60-day notice be given to employers with 100 or more full-time workers. Maine requires a 90-day notice for a covered establishment that is relocating or closing. The department's Rapid Response team is working with Inland employees, as well as with human resources departments of companies that Inland contracted with, to help affected workers, Picard said. "In general, any workers statewide who are impacted by a layoff should reach out to their local CareerCenter, which can help connect them to reemployment services, training, and other information," Picard said in an email. The CareerCenter may be reached by email at by phone at 207-623-7981, or through the LiveChat feature at Copy the Story Link
