Preserve Labor & Delivery Services at MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital

We, the undersigned residents of Lincoln County and surrounding communities, respectfully urge the Board of Directors of MaineHealth to preserve labor and delivery services at Lincoln Hospital and pause any steps toward closure until full alternatives have been publicly evaluated with community input. 

This petition reflects a broad, bipartisan concern shared by patients, clinicians, municipal leaders, and rural health advocates: safe childbirth care must remain accessible within rural Maine communities.

Threats to Pregnant People and their Babies

Maine is experiencing a well-documented reduction in rural maternity services, with multiple hospitals in recent years reducing or eliminating obstetric care due to staffing shortages, financial pressures, and declining birth volumes. Recent Maine examples include the loss or reduction of labor and delivery services in rural and coastal areas such as Mount Desert Island, Houlton, and Waldo. While the causes vary by facility, the impact is consistent: fewer rural communities retain the ability to safely deliver babies in a medical setting.

If labor and delivery services are removed from Lincoln Hospital, many families would face travel times of an hour or more to access obstetric care. Rural Mainers already experience long travel distances to maternity services, particularly in remote and coastal communities. Travel delays can be further compounded by seasonal Route 1 congestion, winter storms and other hazardous road conditions, and ferry or inter-island transportation limitations. These factors are especially significant in obstetric care, where labor progression and complications are time-sensitive and unpredictable. 

Real Consequences

Based on rural health system patterns documented in Maine and nationally, the closure of a labor and delivery unit is often followed by broader systemic impacts over time, including:

• Reduced inpatient hospital capacity
• Difficulty recruiting and retaining clinicians
• Increased strain on emergency departments in surrounding regions
• Declines in preventive and prenatal care access locally
• Reduced attractiveness of the region for young families and healthcare workers.

These are not speculative outcomes; they reflect observed trends. Once obstetric services are removed, re-establishing them is rare and operationally difficult.

Alternatives to Closure
We recognize that rural healthcare systems, including MaineHealth, are facing legitimate workforce shortages. However, these challenges are precisely why state and federal rural health investments exist. Existing policy tools, like Maine’s Rural Health Transformation Program, include massive funding for tools like provider recruitment incentives, loan repayment and retention programs, residency and training pipeline development, and regionalized care coordination models.

Across the country, rural hospitals have maintained obstetric services through strategies such as regional call coverage agreements, rotating provider schedules across hospital networks, shared staffing models, expanded midwifery-led care supported by physician backup, clinician housing and relocation incentives, and partnerships with academic medical centers to strengthen workforce pipelines. These approaches are widely recognized in rural health policy literature as viable solutions when implemented early and supported systemically.

Bipartisan Concern

Concerns about rural maternity access are not political; they are broadly recognized across party lines and at every level of government. Federal rural health initiatives and bipartisan congressional efforts have consistently emphasized the need to preserve maternal care access in rural communities, reduce preventable maternal and infant health risks, strengthen the sustainability of rural hospitals, and ensure equitable access to essential healthcare services regardless of geography.

This issue affects Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike because it directly impacts maternal and infant health outcomes, emergency medical access, rural population stability, and the long-term viability of local communities.

Babies Come from Miles

Margaret
My first birth in New Orleans was deeply traumatic, and afterward I thought birth was something to endure, not something that could feel joyful. But the labor and delivery team at Miles changed that completely — through their kindness, a scheduled c-section, care, attention to detail, and lobster rolls. They didn’t just help deliver my baby; they helped heal the fear I carried from my first birth and restored my ability to enjoy my newborn without turmoil.

Hailey
The care team at MaineHealth Obstetrics and Gynecology - Damariscotta are truly first class. From the moment I called with my positive pregnancy test, through every well check, every diagnostic test and ultrasound, I was met with compassion, guidance, and encouragement. After finding out I was pregnant, I became very passionate about the natural birth process and the idea that my body was created for this very purpose. The team supported me in achieving my birth goals by answering every question I had, providing resources and holding my hand every step of the way. Fast forward to induction day (I was 41 weeks and 5 days), my hospital room was decorated with faux candles, pictures, music and the comforts of home. As the laboring progressed, I felt heard through each decision and my requests were always met with enthusiasm. My husband and I were guided to work together, trying multiple different birthing positions and breathing through each contraction. I truly felt like the team was an extension of my family through their warm, devoted care. I was pushing for four hours, and towards the end I was losing my strength. They informed me of the risks of continuing to push, but more importantly gave me those last words of encouragement “you can do this, you are so strong” and the hug that I needed to believe I could. I pushed one last time on the birthing chair, and I met my beautiful baby boy. It was one of the most empowering moments of my entire life. Birth sets the tone for a woman’s journey to becoming a mother and the often unsettling postpartum period.  Lincoln county women deserve to experience this life-altering care. The OB/Gyn and L&D team in Damariscotta are irreplaceable. Our women, children and families deserve to have access to their services.

Rosie
The birth of my son Tadhg was a beautiful and peaceful delivery at Miles Hospital in Damariscotta. I arrived at the hospital at 7cm dilated and was quickly received by the nurses at the labor and delivery unit. It was my choice to receive an epidural as my first child was a precipitous birth and I wanted to slow down labor, which was successful. I was able to relax and focus with the support from the nurses at Miles. They created such a calm environment. A couple of hours later I delivered my son in the most peaceful way I couldn’t have imagined surrounded by my husband and mother. Stacey Rees, my midwife, coached me in delivering my son which was the most magical experience. I’m forever grateful for the professionalism, calming-care and experienced support of the labor and delivery unit at Miles.

Formal Request to MaineHealth Leadership

If labor and delivery services are discontinued at Lincoln Hospital, families in Lincoln County would face:

• Longer travel times for childbirth care 
• Increased exposure to weather- and traffic-related risks during transport
• Delays in emergency obstetric response
• Greater reliance on already burdened regional hospitals
• Reduced continuity of prenatal and postpartum care close to home
• Increased difficulty attracting/retaining young families and healthcare workers

These impacts extend beyond healthcare into the long-term sustainability of rural communities. Therefore, we respectfully request that the Board of Directors of MaineHealth:

1. Immediately pause any steps toward service closure at Miles Lincoln Hospital.
2. Publicly share the data, criteria, and analysis informing any proposed change.
3. Via clear action, show how you’ve HEARD the concerns of your patients, clinicians, municipal leaders, and community members prior to decision.
4. Work with the State of Maine to fully explore workforce strategies and rural health funding mechanisms.

Rural Maine communities should not be placed in a position where childbirth requires long-distance emergency travel as a matter of routine necessity. Preserving services at Miles is about the viability, safety, and sustainability of rural life. We urge MaineHealth to keep this service open and work collaboratively with the community to ensure long-term stability rather than irreversible loss.