A mix of staffing shortages, recruitment challenges and financial pressures has fueled a wave of healthcare closures in Maine, with six practices and clinics shuttering or announcing plans to close in the last six months.
Healthcare providers across Maine have closed, or announced plans to close, at least six practices and clinics in the last six months, citing workforce shortages, recruitment difficulties, declining patient volume and rising operating costs.
Here’s a breakdown of the closures:
- In January, Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health said it would close its primary care practice in Castine effective Feb. 27. The system pointed to staffing challenges, declining patient volume per physician and rising operating costs. Northern Light also closed its walk-in clinic in Waterville in October.
- Recruitment struggles have also contributed to closures. Bangor-based Downeast OB-GYN, which opened in 1994, will close July 2, according to a March 6 Facebook post from owner Christopher Ramset, MD. Dr. Ramset said the primary reason for the closure was the practice’s inability to recruit new physicians.The closure comes as obstetric care access continues to shrink in the state. At least 10 hospital birthing centers in Maine have closed in the last decade, according to WMTW.
- Gray Family Health Center also closed March 6, according to a notice posted on the practice’s website. Two providers — Amy Bergeron, DNP, and Manju Hilary, MD — will relocate to Topsham (Maine) Family Medicine. Ben Slocum, DO, will leave the practice.
- Central Maine Healthcare permanently closed its Manchester Care Center, including therapy and lab services, on Oct. 31, according to an announcement on the center’s website. The system was recently acquired by Ontario, Calif.-based nonprofit Prime Healthcare Foundation, which pledged in 2025 to invest $150 million in the facilities over the next five years and expand services based on community needs.
- Fairfield-based Aurora Healthcare, a non-hospital-affiliated private practice established in 2020, also closed effective Dec. 1, according to WMTW.
