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Layoffs announced at Northern Maine Medical Center

By Julia Bayly, Special to the BDN

Posted Feb. 04, 2009, at 1:13 p.m.
Last modified Feb. 13, 2011, at 11:07 a.m.

FORT KENT — Fifty-nine employees at Northern Maine Medical Center are affected by cost-saving measures announced Wednesday morning.

Nineteen employees have been laid off permanently while an additional 32 have seen a reduction in work hours, according to a statement released by Martin Bernstein, NMMC chief executive officer.

Eighteen open positions will not be filled and Bernstein said additional work reduction hours are pending.

“These steps have been taken to counter a reduction in patient activity brought on by a recession coupled with a loss of key healthcare providers,” Bernstein said. “These adjustments have not been easy and have required a lot of time and effort by staff.”

Additional cost-savings measures include a one-year moratorium on salary adjustments, a one-year pension furlough, a 30-percent reduction in the education budget and reductions in supplies.

Total projected savings from the announced cuts is $2,474,909, Bernstein said.

Declines in the overall economy coupled with the hospital’s loss of key health care providers has created the fiscal crisis, he said.

Northern Maine Medical Center is a not-for-profit community hospital and currently employs about 600 people in facilities that include an acute care hospital, a long-term care facility, wellness clinics and a psychiatric unit.