The Aroostook Medical Center's Board of Trustees recently approved a plan to create a new patient-focused outpatient services center in Presque Isle with improved access to healthcare practitioners, expanded hours, and basic laboratory and imaging services. The new center, which will be located in the North Street Plaza, is expected to open by January, 2009.

"This announcement is the result of many years of analysis and planning," said Dave Peterson, President/CEO of The Aroostook Medical Center. "The North Street Plaza currently houses many other healthcare-related services. The addition of this new outpatient services center will create what is essentially a medical mall, and it will be the only facility of its type in Aroostook County."

Patients using the new outpatient services center will benefit from convenient parking and simplified scheduling. Community members will also be able to receive care from a healthcare practitioner in the evening without having to go to the emergency room.

Initially, approximately 20 healthcare practitioners who serve patients at A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital and at various Horizons health centers will practice medicine at the North Street location. Two practices currently located at A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital - Aroostook Family Practice and Aroostook Pediatrics – will relocate to the new outpatient services center in order to create space at the hospital for the expansion of specialty services. Presque Isle Health Center, which is currently located in the North Street Plaza, will also become part of the new center.

Additionally, Horizons Health Centers in Fort Fairfield, Washburn, Limestone, and Madawaska will consolidate with the new North Street location by the end of 2008. Horizons Health Centers in Caribou, Ashland, and Mars Hill will continue to provide services in those communities.

"We have found that many patients are already traveling beyond their communities for their healthcare needs," added Peterson. "By having strong practices in the communities where people work and shop, access to healthcare practitioners will be improved, and patients using the outpatient services center will be able to see their practitioner and obtain basic laboratory and imaging services right in the same building."

Patients currently have limited access to healthcare practitioners at many of the health centers affected by the plan. At Washburn Health Center, for example, practitioners only offer services three days a week because of the low number of patients that use the health center. Residents of Washburn and surrounding communities use the health center only half as much as they did five years ago.

Healthcare practitioners will also benefit from The Aroostook Medical Center's plan. Practitioners who currently practice at the smaller health centers will benefit from the support and opportunities for collaboration available at the new outpatient services center. In addition, physician shortages nationwide make it difficult to recruit doctors to rural areas, and having stronger, larger practices makes it easier to recruit physicians and manage staffing levels.

At Thursday's meeting of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Dan Fowler, President of The Aroostook Medical Center's Medical Staff, commented on what the new outpatient services center will mean for practitioners. "This model is the wave of the future," said Fowler. "Physicians who come out of medical school today expect to work closely with other healthcare practitioners. Now that we have hospitalist physicians caring for patients at A.R. Gould 24 hours a day, family practitioners can serve their patients at this new location without having to worry about being close to the hospital."

There are other benefits to the creation of the outpatient services center. A recent review of services showed that bringing together services in one location will solidify the financial strength of The Aroostook Medical Center, which will improve the organization's ability to continue to offer a full range of services not typically found in rural areas.

"As healthcare continues to change, hospitals will need to become even more efficient in order to offer advanced services and the latest technology," explained Bruce Sandstrom, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Aroostook Medical Center. "Every hospital in Maine suffers from MaineCare shortfalls and delays in payment, and in fact, the state currently owes TAMC over $17 million. The Aroostook Medical Center remains financially strong, but we need to regularly review ways to improve our efficiency so we can continue to offer a complete range of services in our communities."

Care will continue, uninterrupted, to patients who currently receive care at the health centers in Limestone, Washburn, Fort Fairfield, and Madawaska. Patient records from these health centers will be forwarded to Horizons Health Centers in Presque Isle and Caribou. Patients will be contacted in the next several weeks with more information about how to access their records and make appointments.

The Aroostook Medical Center will work with community leaders in Fort Fairfield, Washburn, Limestone, and Madawaska to identify reuse opportunities for the buildings that will become available in those towns. All employees affected by these changes will be offered other jobs with Horizons.

"This is a new concept in how healthcare can be provided in Aroostook County," said Peterson. "The outpatient services center in the new medical mall will provide patients with enhanced access and will free up space at A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital for future growth. The changes will result in more convenient services both at the hospital and at the North Street location, and we believe our patients will be very satisfied."

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