Nearly 600 employees have left Central Maine Healthcare since the system was acquired by Prime Healthcare Foundation in February, raising concerns among staff about growing workloads and potential impacts on patient care.
Prime officials said 572 employees have departed since the Feb. 15 acquisition, representing less than 20% of the workforce, which they say is in line with national turnover rates during hospital transitions. The California-based nonprofit also said it has hired 400 employees during the same period, leaving the system with 2,748 workers.
Current and former employees, however, say staffing shortages have worsened at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital and outpatient practices. Several providers who spoke anonymously cited heavier workloads, delayed patient care and increasing reliance on temporary physicians.
One physician who plans to leave later this year said eight colleagues in her department have departed in the past six months.
“We have been incredibly busy and need more staffing,” she said. “I think patient care is getting dangerously delayed.”
Internal emails obtained by staff describe critically low staffing in the histology lab, which processes biopsies and cancer diagnoses, and numerous uncovered hospitalist shifts through July and August. Providers warned that staffing shortages could delay pathology results and leave emergency patients waiting longer for admission.
Prime acknowledged some staffing challenges but said turnover is below the national average and that patient care continues to be supported through recruitment efforts, locum physicians and existing staff taking additional shifts.
Employees dispute Prime’s earlier pledge to retain and support workers after promising $150 million in investments over five years. They say resignations have continued across several departments, including obstetrics, hospital medicine, cardiology and surgery.
Prime confirmed several physicians and surgical staff have resigned but said operations have not been disrupted. The health system also said it plans to recruit additional providers, including a physician for Naples Family Practice.
Since the acquisition, Central Maine Healthcare has also replaced its chief executive with a longtime Prime executive and expanded previously announced IT layoffs during its transition to a new electronic medical records system. While Prime says no direct patient care positions have been eliminated, employees say staffing shortages continue to strain remaining workers.
The departing physician said conditions have changed dramatically since the acquisition.
“We’ve been asked to work more shifts and see more patients,” she said. “Things get missed, patients wait longer and people are feeling hopeless.”
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