After serving 11 years, Mid Coast-Parkview Health President Lois Skillings will retire Jan. 19.

Dr. Christopher Bowe, an emergency physician and former chief medical officer at the hospital, took over the role Jan. 1, but Skillings will stay on through most of the month in an advisory capacity, according to the hospital.

Mid Coast-Parkview Health President Lois Skillings. Contributed photo

Ready to spend more time with family, Skillings said, “It’s just time.”

“I’m a baby boomer. It’s our developmental task to turn things over to the next generation,” she said. “I feel so good about it. I don’t have any regrets or concerns.”

A registered nurse, Skillings has worked for MCPH since 1979 in numerous capacities, including as vice president of nursing.

Skillings noted that health care changed constantly during her career and that will continue after she departs.

“We are learning so much about the science of how to diagnose and treat illnesses as science and technology improve what we know,” she said.

Hoping to facilitate better access to health care for the community, Skillings oversaw two major mergers during her presidency.

In 2015, Mid Coast merged with its top competitor, Parkview Adventist Medical Center. Five years later, Mid Coast-Parkview Health merged again with MaineHealth, the state’s largest health care provider and largest employer.

She considers both mergers successful and hopes the integration with MaineHealth will continue to grow and eventually expand along the Midcoast.

“There was always a real intentional goal to maintain the very special community-focused culture and to honor the care team that is doing the work,” she said.

After 43 years in the medical field, Skillings said COVID-19 was the most daunting challenge she has ever faced.

“It was brutal in health care, and I don’t think there are truly any words to describe it,” she said. “The biggest impact was on the frontline care team that dealt with the patients who were so sick from COVID.”

The pandemic started in 2020, but Skillings said her facilities were hit the hardest last year when the delta variant of COVID-19 emerged.

“There was a lot of anxiety, but we learned how to be resilient in ways we didn’t even know we had,” she said.

Following retirement, Skillings plans to reconnect with her nursing roots after so many years in an administrative role, potentially as a teacher.

Skillings said she fully endorses her replacement.

Dr. Christopher Bowe. Jeffrey Morris photo

“Dr. Christopher Bowe is exactly the right leader at the right time,” she said. “He is a really skilled clinician. He is smart, strong and solutions-oriented. He gets things done, but he is a great listener, kind and collaborative. He is exactly what we need.”

Bowe, a Wisconsin native, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1999 and completed his residency at Maine Medical Center in 2002. Bowe remained at Maine Medical until 2013 and worked as an emergency physician. From there, he transferred to St. Mary’s Hospitals and worked as the chairperson of emergency services until 2016 when he became the chief medical officer. In April 2020, he took on the role of chief medical officer at MCPH.

Bowe said the transition to MCPH was fast and furious because the pandemic had just started, but he was “impressed with the medical staff.”

“I hope to continue to be an employer of choice,” Bowe said. “People know they can come here and have a really great career taking care of their community while being treated well.”

There is no relation between Lois Skillings and reporter Maria Skilling.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of Skillings’ retirement. She will officially retire Jan. 19, working in an advisory role until then.