Mainebiz

V O L . X X X I N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 2 5 12 G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E F O C U S "It's a very simple process that is complex to stay on top of," Whitlow says, relying on an outside firm to man- age documentation and visa appoint- ments. "As a small business owner you're washing dishes one day, bartending the next and checking in guests, so staying on top of paperwork would have been a recipe for failure for me." She does, however, provide trans- portation and housing. She turned a minivan she formerly used to transport her two Great Danes — Lucy and Finnegan, a regular greeter at the hotel — into an employee shuttle. "It helps that we live in a small town, so all the distances are short," she says. She also rents houses for staff mem- bers from away, even contacting home- owners looking to sell as soon as dwell- ings are listed to see if they're interested in a six-month lease agreement. "I'm pounding the pavement looking for housing for my team," she says. With some exceptions, most employees are locals, including three freshly minted high school graduates and a restaurant hostess who used to be a breakfast server and housekeeper. Whitlow's longest-serving employee, in her 28 th season, works at Slate and owns the local preschool. "We really value and adore our local workforce," says Whitlow, who says she pays above-market salaries and raises as well as end-of-season bonuses. Swabbing up hires in Guilford Down the road in Guilford, Puritan Medical Products is a third-generation family-owned manufacturer of swabs and single-use specimen collection devices for medical, research and foren- sic uses. It produces more than a billion swabs annually and has been on a hiring spree over the past six months. e effort requires restoring good- will after a restructuring two years ago, when the company that achieved a global profile during the pandemic trimmed 272 jobs and closed its plant in Tennessee. "e brand image was hurt a little bit in 2023, and so we've been build- ing that back," says President and CFO Bob Shultz. Part of the strategy is fostering community goodwill, like participating in the Piscataquis River Festival parade. Dozens of employees took part in the late July festivities clad in green company T-shirts and wielding supersized swabs. "Puritan killed it at the parade," Shultz gushes afterwards. "It was an incredible outpouring of community, and Puritan was excited to be an integral presence." Currently at 509 total employees, including 278 in Guilford and 214 in the Somerset County town of Pittsfield, Puritan is looking to fill more than a dozen roles in Guilford. "As we move forward we will con- tinue to add strategically as necessary," Shultz says. New hires this year include Chuck Campbell, who was promoted to Guilford's site director in June four months after starting as continuous improvement manager. While working for Walpole Outdoors in Pittsfield, he was contacted by a recruiter for Puritan. Despite some initial concerns about the restructuring, Campbell was reas- sured about Puritan's finances and growth. He finds operator jobs the hard- est to fill, and says that as long as some- one has a good attitude, performance can be taught. He also says that housing doesn't typically come up in job inter- views, nor does he mind his 45-minute commute from Pittsfield. "It's a very nice drive, through some of the nicest parts of rural Maine," he says. "I started in the winter, and I have yet to see the fall, when it should be even more beautiful." A hospital that's fully staffed Back in Greenville, Northern Light CA Dean Hospital is crafting solutions to workforce gaps as hospitals nationwide tackle financial challenges. at's mainly out of necessity for a small institution with an oversized role, providing primary and specialty care in Greenville as well as at health centers in Sangerville and Monson. Surrounded by trees and unusually quiet in late July even for a rural med- ical facility, the 114-year-old hospital got a $27 million upgrade completed in early 2024. Licensed for up to 25 beds as a Critical Access Hospital, CA Dean is equipped with 15 inpatient rooms and beds in the new building and renovated wing. e revamp, financed in part via a $6.2 million capital campaign, includes a new ambulance station with six adja- cent dorm rooms for visiting emergency room doctors. While some drive up from Portland or elsewhere in New England, others fly in from out of state to work 72-hour shifts on a per diem basis. "It allows us to have medical doctors here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to care for emergencies as well as inpa- tients," says Marie Vienneau, who serves as president of Northern Light CA » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Guilford at a glance Incorporated: 1860 Estimated 2024 population: 1,303 Location: On the Piscataquis River Fun fact: Guilford is featured in Harry Turtledove's "Supervolcano" science fiction trilogy. As we move forward we will continue to add strategically as necessary. — Bob Shultz Puritan Medical Products Puritan Medical Products President and CFO Bob Shultz in the warehouse in Guilford, holding one of the supersized cotton swabs to be carried by employees in a local parade. Puritan produces more than a billion swabs annually. Puritan Medical Products site director Charles Campbell on the factory floor in Guilford. The factory floor of Puritan Medical Products in Guilford. P H O T O S / J I M N E U G E R

• Cover