Media Credit: Andrew Prindle A member of the Beehive Collective, a collaborative artist group based out of Machias, gave a presentation on the Beehive's mission, artiwork and artistic process. In the background is a photo of the Collective's recent renovation of the Grange House, the group's home, where they create their socially conscious and researched ink drawings.

Eastern Maine Medical Center will run the University of Maine's Cutler Health Center after January 2009, in an effort to improve student services and reduce costs.

The university inspected Cutler from March until July 2007, and found 20 to 25 percent of students utilized the center - largely because of its inability to bill students' third-party insurance and its lack of hours during school breaks. Because of those difficulties and the costs involved in running Cutler, UMaine decided a private contractor would be better suited to handle campus health services.

"I think what you'll see here is the benefit that they'll get from being part of a large group - that is, they'll have resources and support networks, but on the other side you'll also see them saying, 'Well, this is the University of Maine,'" said Vice President for Student Affairs Robert Dana. "They know this isn't just a standard medical practice. They know it's a college community, they know that college students expect different things, that they demand different things and that they need different things."

Students will now be able to file with MaineCare and third-party insurance claims whenever they go to Cutler, as well as receive treatment at any of EMMC's other facilities.

"We wanted the students to be able to have services at other locations and during expanded hours, so that when Cutler Health Center was closed students would be able to go to a corresponding facility, locally, and receive medical care; and have their records follow them," said June Baldacci, director of Purchasing and Finance.

The contract requires EMMC to exceed the current level of services, provide specialties such as radiology, utilize quality assurance programs like electronic medical records, integrate with UMaine counseling and continue to provide occupational health services and primary care for faculty and staff. Dr. Glenn Rampe of Orono Family Medicine will be Cutler's new lead physician. Rampe plans to hire two or three new physicians for the center.

"Right now we are very limited in what we can provide for students. We give the best health care service that we can, but it still is limited," said Robin Toderian, assistant vice president of Student Auxiliary Services.

UMaine expects to save approximatley $1 million by privatizing Cutler.

Despite a requirement that all of Cutler's staff be kept on and protected once EMMC takes over, the center's employees have chosen to resign.

"At the final analysis, the staff itself chose to resign from the university and move in a different direction," Dana said. "I'm not sure [why], to be honest with you. It didn't make any sense to me. I thought up until the final moment that they would be continued. I expect that people probably felt as though they're highly employable - because they're healthcare specialists."

The staff's employment will terminate around Dec. 27, but they are free to reapply with EMMC and possibly continue working at Cutler.

Eastern Maine Medical competed with Penobscot Community Healthcare and Sunbury Medical Associates for the contract. Sunbury's lack of electronic medical records was the key factor in its failure to win. Eastern Maine Medical won over Penobscot because of its "depth and scope of resources that would better fulfill the obligations of the contract," Baldacci said. Sunbury also didn't offer as comprehensive a radiology service as EMMC.

"We have many, many questions on taking health insurance and when are we going to do it," Toderian said.

UMaine will have limited control over Cutler after the handover. The contract will set up an advisory committee to work with EMMC over any issues in the future, but otherwise, the university can only hold Eastern Maine Medical to the contract's expectations, according to Janet Waldron, vice president for Administration and Finance. Those expectations are still being finalized.

"The University still owns the facility, but as far as operational control, I think that's still being worked on in the contract," Baldacci said.

UMaine currently works with Orono pharmacy and Miller drug for pharmaceutical services, an arrangement Eastern Maine Medical will likely continue, according to Toderian.

The final contract will be finished in time for the January deadline.

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