MaineHealth Board Poised to Vote on Closing Lincoln Hospital Birthing Unit
A board decision could end the county’s only labor-and-delivery service, which would raise travel times for pregnant people, increasing the risk of maternal and newborn complications.
Overview
- Dozens of protesters and the Miles Delivers Action Coalition marched to MaineHealth’s Portland headquarters on Saturday to urge the system to keep the Miles Campus birthing unit open.
- Gov. Janet Mills formally asked MaineHealth to delay any decision for two years and community organizers say several thousand people have signed their petition opposing the closure.
- MaineHealth says no final choice has been made and that its clinical and operational leaders are using an established governance review to weigh workforce realities, patient safety, access and long-term sustainability.
- The MaineHealth Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on the future of labor-and-delivery services at the Miles Campus on Thursday, a procedural step that will determine whether the unit closes.
- Advocates and local clinicians warn that losing the unit would deepen a multi-year trend of rural maternity closures in Maine, could harm local economies, and force longer, potentially riskier travel for people in labor.