BRUNSWICK

Only the location and moderators were different; the arguments, as well as the people making them, remained the same.

About 300 people attended a daylong public forum Wednesday at the Knights of Columbus Hall, the latest hearing in the skirmish over which health-care system — Lewiston-based Central Maine Health Care or Brunswick-based Mid Coast Health Services — should take over management of Parkview Adventist Medical Center.

Other unofficial forums have been held during the past few weeks. Wednesday’s hearing was the first in what likely will be a months-long analysis by Department of Health and Human Services licensing and regulatory board regarding a Certificate of Need filed three months ago by CMHC.

In its application, Lewistonbased CMHC claims it can better provide the services, staff and core patient volume needed to prop up the smaller of Brunswick’s two hospitals.

For several years, Parkview has hemorrhaged money and watched admissions drop. It has accepted millions of dollars in financial aid from CMHC and dozens of staffing positions are filled by workers from Lewiston.

Conversely, Mid Coast filed its own Certificate of Need application with the state in September — subsequently rejected — saying CMHC’s involvement with Parkview only aggravates a duplication of medical services in the area and is the root cause of higher health care costs.

CMHC officials maintain that taking over Parkview would add services and improve its financial base while providing for more complex care at Central Maine Medical Center if needed.

Mike Ortel, president of Parkview’s board of directors, insisted that CMHC would not “overtake” Parkview but would “assist” the hospital maintain its 303 employees and $16 million payroll.

“‘Parkview is here to stay’ is the mantra of the day,” CMHC spokesman Chuck Gill said.

“It would be a paper transaction,” he said. “Nothing would change: Parkview Corp. would continue to maintain operation of the hospital, there will be no new buildings or equipment, and it would continue to be taxexempt.”

Additionally, Gill promised the “Adventist” designation and affiliation would be retained.

Administrators from hospitals in Bridgton and Rumford, which already have been absorbed by CMHC, extolled the benefits of inclusion.

Bill Chalmers, former board chairman of Bridgton Hospital, said he understands the public’s concerns.

“The last thing I wanted to do was turn over the car keys of our local hospital to another entity,” Chalmers said. “But not only has health care in Bridgton been preserved, it’s better.

“We wanted health care delivered in Bridgton, you want health care delivered in Brunswick,” he added, “and in Bridgton, we’re pretty damned happy with the way it is now.”

But Mid Coast argues preserving Parkview’s status quo is the problem.

“The very definition of a Certificate of Need is to prevent unnecessary duplication of services,” said Bob McCue, president of Mid Coast’s board of directors. “Central Maine Health Care hasn’t once discussed duplication of services. It’s confusing its own needs with those if its patients.”

Meeting protocol allowed Parkview officials 30 minutes to make their case, followed by an hour and a half of public comment. After a lunch, Mid Coast administrators explained their opposition to CMHC’s plan, followed by two more hours of comment and closing remarks by each side.

More than 70 people signed up Wednesday to testify. They ranged from medical staffers and hospital employees to patients and their family members. Each speaker was allowed five minutes to make his or her case.

Most managed to keep within the allotted time before being silenced by DHHS Director of Licensing and Regulation Ken Albert.

Most speakers praised each facility for its quality of care. But many also scolded them for failing to get along, lamenting the hospitals’ rancorous recent history.

Since the initial merger of clinics in Bath and Brunswick created the modern Mid Coast Hospital in the mid-1990s, Parkview and Mid Coast have been in almost constant tension.

Several speakers recalled that the two hospitals and their respective staffs used to be much cozier. Dr. Robert Galen, a former radiologist and staffer at Parkview, Bath and Brunswick hospitals, recalled when “cooperation existed at all three hospitals.” He described patients being moved between each facility depending on what procedure was needed and which building had the necessary equipment.

“Staffs then were quite interchangeable,” he said. But new administrators brought “aggressive” new business models heralding “more local control,” and eventually the staffs — and relationships — parted.

Ralph Perry, of Orr’s Island, said he once made a large gift to Parkview in gratitude for the care his wife had gotten there.

He was so impressed with the hospital and its Adventist attitude of preventive care that he eventually served on its capital campaign and administrator search committees.

However, Perry soon became frustrated with Parkview’s stubbornness and changed his allegiance to Mid Coast.

“Parkview viewed itself as a faith-based organization that wanted to remain exclusive,” Perry said. “I’ve seen the animosity and understand why it has come to this point. But the best thing for the community is for these two hospitals to get together.

“What Parkview is doing is not what’s best for the community,” Perry said. “It’s what’s best for Parkview.”

Chris McCarthy, director of integrated health services at Bath Iron Works, said a Parkview-Mid Coast tie-up would save money by reducing the number of hospital beds in the area.

“We spend about $100 million a year in health care,” mostly in the Brunswick area, he said. “This is big dollars for us. We at BIW would like the providers in the community to put aside their differences and get together to figure out how to come up with a solution.”

DHHS will continue to take public comment for 30 days. After that, it will review all comments and form a preliminary analysis. Then it will reopen the public record for additional input before making a final recommendation to Commissioner Mary Mayhew.

Comments may be filed in writing by mail, email at the department’s website, maine.gov/dhhs, or by telephone at 287-3707.

jtleonard@timesrecord.com