ONTARIO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Prime Healthcare Foundation and the Central Maine Healthcare (CMH) Board of Directors announced they have reached an agreement for Prime Healthcare Foundation to become the sole corporate member and parent company of Central Maine Healthcare.
The agreement includes the following facilities: Central Maine Medical Center, Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital, Rumford Community Home, Bolster Heights, Maine College of Health Professions, CMH Cancer Care Center, and a combination of over 40 physician practices. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
The Prime Healthcare Foundation, headquartered in Ontario, California, is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 2006, affiliated with Prime Healthcare and operating 14 not-for-profit hospitals in six states. The Foundation’s mission is to improve lives and uplift communities through healthcare and education. The Foundation has provided more than $3.4 billion in charity care and sponsored local and global initiatives to promote health, support medical education, provide humanitarian aid, expand access to quality compassionate care, and address healthcare disparities nationally and globally. Combined with Prime Healthcare, nearly $14 billion has been provided in charity care and community benefit since 2010.
“Prime Healthcare Foundation was selected to steward these hospitals and care sites into the future after a thorough evaluation of the system’s mission, vision, and values, and a review of Prime’s success investing in hospitals to improve healthcare, especially in vulnerable communities,” said CMH Chairman of the Board Devore Culver.
“I was convinced Prime Healthcare Foundation would be the right partner after meeting with Prime’s senior leaders and visiting its hospital in Woonsocket, Rhode Island,” Culver continued. “We learned first-hand how Prime has invested in people, technology, and community partnerships. The Board of Directors could not be more pleased to have found a partner like Prime Healthcare Foundation, and we see a secure, more vibrant future for healthcare in central Maine.”
All CMH facilities, including hospitals, will retain their current names and local leadership. The Prime Healthcare Foundation will offer substantially all CMH team members positions and will honor all provider and physician contracts. Prime Healthcare Foundation has agreed to invest $150 million in the facilities over the next five years and will continue and expand services based on community needs. Charity care and community benefit programs will continue, preserving the facilities’ roles as valued community partners.
“Prime Healthcare Foundation is a steward of a mission to improve lives and uplift communities by ensuring access to the highest quality, compassionate care when people need it the most,” said Kavitha Bhatia, MD, President and Chair of the Prime Healthcare Foundation. “We look forward to welcoming the CMH staff, physicians, patients, and communities to the Prime family. Through our dedication to health equity, clinical quality, and patient-centered, physician-led care, we are deeply committed to ensuring the CMH legacy continues for generations to come.”
CMH Chief Executive Officer Steve Littleson said, “As part of Prime Healthcare Foundation, we will now have the capability and the resources to attract and retain top talent, improve access to care, and address unmet healthcare needs across Central Maine.”
Rebecca Brakeley, MD, Interim Chief Medical Officer, said, “Prime Healthcare Foundation’s physician leadership shares a relentless focus on quality patient care and a commitment to expanding access to undergraduate and graduate medical education with our 600 medical staff providers.”
Prime Healthcare Foundation hospitals are dedicated to clinical excellence and annually receive national recognition from The Leapfrog Group, Healthgrades, Fortune/Merative, Lown Institute, and other organizations for clinical excellence and patient safety. The CMH facilities will join Prime’s award-winning national health system that currently includes 44 tax-paying and not-for-profit hospitals, more than 300 outpatient locations, and nearly 45,000 employees and affiliated physicians dedicated to providing the highest quality healthcare.
Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a Top 10 and Top 15 Health System by Truven Health Analytics. Prime Healthcare was named as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for 2024 by Newsweek showcasing its environment where diverse backgrounds and identities are valued and celebrated. Its hospitals have been named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” 69 times and have received more Patient Safety Excellence Awards from Healthgrades than any other health system for eight years (2016-2023). Over the last two years, Prime Healthcare received more than 600 awards from national organizations such as The Leapfrog Group, U.S. News & World Report, and the Lown Institute, which honored Prime Healthcare as a “Top 10 Health System” in the nation for health equity and social responsibility.
Until the transaction closes by the end of 2025, Prime Healthcare and the included CMH facilities will continue to operate independently under a consulting agreement between the two organizations to ensure stability and continued exceptional patient care.
About Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation: Prime Healthcare is an award-winning health system operating 44 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states, providing over 2.2 million patient visits annually. It is one of the nation’s leading health systems with nearly 45,000 employees and affiliated physicians. Fourteen of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity. Based in Ontario, California, Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a Top 10 and Top 15 Health System by Truven Health Analytics. Its hospitals have been named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” 69 times and have received more Patient Safety Excellence Awards from Healthgrades than any other health system in the past eight years. To learn more, please visit primehealthcare.com.
