With the recent news that Goodall Hospital in Sanford and Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford plan to merge, we’re hopeful that this change will mean better care for patients, while preserving as many jobs as possible.

In this difficult economy, it seems mergers are the new black.

Just last week, this merger was announced, as well as a YMCA merger. The Northern York County YMCA and the Cumberland County YMCA merged, as of last week, to form the YMCA of Southern Maine, encompassing four branches.

All of the organizations’ leaders say the mergers will benefit the members and patients of the locations.

For the hospitals, Goodall President Patsy Aprile said the planned merger “is great for the community.” She added that Goodall Hospital and SMMC have equal representation on the newly created Southern Maine Health Care board, which includes a mix of community members and physicians. The merger may lead to expanded specialty services that aren’t currently available, she said.

The shared information and some personnel, like administrators, would likely save on costs while allowing each hospital to excel where its staffs’ strengths are, while offering general health and emergency care. The two hospitals can also evaluate which programs work the best, and adopt the most efficient at both facilities.

Over the summer, SMMC switched to an in-room dining service, which they say saves food, and in turn, money. They are also spending less on disposing of waste. Goodall, in July, purchased a Biogreen 360 unit, which takes its food waste and creates compost for gardens. This was also billed as a cost-saving, waste-reducing measure.

These types of changes and ideas will ultimately benefit both hospitals when adopted by both sites.

In addition to the merger, Goodall announced recently it will also join MaineHealth, a nonprofit consortium of health care organizations, of which SMMC is already a member. The addition of membership to the group means some of the hospital’s outstanding debt will be guaranteed by MaineHealth and access to capital for renovations and the purchase of new equipment, lower medical insurance costs and reduced costs for supplies through MaineHealth’s purchasing programs.

Hospital leaders say despite the annual fees, the savings are significant.

SMMC joined MaineHealth in 2009, and SMMC President Ed McGeachey said the hospital has already saved “millions” through its membership.

We hope all of these changes will make both hospitals more solvent and strengthen their organizations to ensure these major job providers stay in business and financially healthy in the future.

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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham representing the majority opinion of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.