Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I I N O. X X I S E P T E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 7 28 H E A LT H C A R E F O C U S at its sister facility, St. Croix Tissue — Environmental Manager Scott Beal echoes those thoughts. "As we're trying to attract and retain talent in our business, depend- ing on where you are on life's path, the question is always one of two from prospective candidates," Beal says. "If they're younger, with children, the rst question is, 'What can you tell me about the educational opportuni- ties here?' If you're a junior geezer, like me, you might be more interested in the health care facilities. So it's always education or health care. ose are some of our concerns, as an employer, and some of my concerns as someone who lives in Baileyville." Sustaining the future ese challenges occur throughout rural Maine. At Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft, which also runs numerous o -campus facilities in the region's small communities, CEO Marie Vienneau echoes Calais Regional's situation when she explains that cuts in Medicare reimbursements, the lack of Medicaid expansion, increased free care for people with no insurance, and bad debt from insured people who can't pay high deductibles have created a worrisome situation. at's topped by increased care for an aging and impov- erished demographic; and di culties recruiting new practitioners, resulting in premium pay for temporary sta . Over the past year, two positions were left un lled to cut expenses. Mayo is examining revenue boost- ers like improved charge-capture, new service lines, and grants to purchase telemedicine equipment, which could help retain patients in certain units rather than transferring them else- where. A collaboration or merger with Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems is in discussion, as a way to lower costs. "So far, we've been able to retain our services," Vienneau says. "But we need to nd other ways to operate more e ciently. I won't be able to sus- tain all our specialty services into the future unless I have a lot more patient volume or a lot more reimbursement." L S , M a i n e b i z s t a f f writer, can be reached at @ . a n d @ M R E I » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E nhdlaw.com Portland (207) 774-7000 Lewiston (207) 777-5200 VISION & VALUES At Norman Hanson DeTroy, our vision guides our words and our values anchor our actions. For over 40 years, our team of legal experts has proudly supported Maine and its growing healthcare industry by delivering a broad range of legal solutions to help our clients succeed. solutions to help our clients succeed. Attorneys at Law Knowing where you can dig around buried utilities is good safety and smart. When it comes to cutting concrete, the same applies. Knowing where you can cut concrete, and more importantly not cut concrete, is also smart and can cut concrete, is also smart and can save you thousands of dollars — and countless hours — on your next project. • Electronic Locating • Concrete Scanning • Ground Penetrating Radar WE KEEP WORK AREAS SAFE To learn more about who has the expertise and equipment to help you safely dig and cut, visit digsmartofmaine.com or call Glen at 207.749.7231 www.digsmartofmaine.com REBAR RADIANT HEAT PIPES CLEAR BULLSEYE FOR CORING Private Utility Locating The business-health connection R ural employers, the general community and health care providers can leverage rela- tionships to ensure the sustainability of rural health care providers, many agree. ¡ "Hospitals probably need to do a better job of reaching out to employers," says First National's Lou Esposito. "Our bank has the hospital come in and do cholesterol screenings and u shots. It's a little thing, but it's a way for the hospital to promote itself and generate good will." ¡ "One of the best things we can do as a large employer is to utilize the facility," says Woodland Pulp's Scott Beal. "And we do. We're talking with those folks [Calais Regional] now about doing more together, in terms of helping us with some of our needs for our employee base. That relationship has been around for some period of time, but we're looking for additional services they could provide for us. Anything we can do locally to support each other makes a lot of sense. A viable, well-run, ef cient and skillful medical facility isn't a luxury. It's a must-have." ¡ Mayo Regional CEO Marie Vienneau is involved with the community as a mem- ber of the chamber of commerce, economic development council and Kiwanis. She recently started a business leaders' roundtable, including town managers, to discuss issues around health care. She requires managers to be involved in at least one community group. Mayo's board includes business leaders. Being integrated in the larger community "encourage[s] their families and friends to get their care here. We want them to choose us rst." ¡ "The business community understands the importance of having a healthy workforce and having access to affordable healthcare," says Christopher Winstead, executive director at the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council in Dover-Foxcroft. "Our communities have been supportive and need to continue to be supportive and have those conversations—how can we work with you to make sure you have the critical mass of patients you need? Conversely, how can you work with us to make sure our heath care costs stay down? That 's where the conversation is moving."

• Cover