Nearly $3.2 Million to Support Northern Light Health Secured by Senator Collins in Funding Bill in First Key Step
Funding would support facility and equipment upgrades, expand access to pediatric mental health care
Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she secured a total of $3,198,000 for Northern Light Health in the draft Fiscal Year 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. The bill, which was officially released by the full Senate Appropriations Committee today, must still be voted upon by the full Senate and House.
“The skilled health care professionals at Northern Light provide quality, compassionate health services to residents of eastern, central, and northern Maine. In addition, as one of only two private psychiatric hospitals in Maine, Acadia Hospital provides essential mental health care to Mainers across the state, which has been increasingly in demand during the pandemic,” said Senator Collins. “This funding would help expand Acadia Hospital’s ability to care for pediatric mental health patients as well as upgrade Northern Light ventilators so that the hospital is equipped to provide the best possible care. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to champion this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.”
$2 million would be used by Northern Light to expand access to pediatric inpatient care at Acadia Hospital. Due to the lack of inpatient pediatric mental health beds in the state, many children have been stuck in emergency rooms throughout Maine, sometimes waiting up to 20 days or more for admission to pediatric inpatient services. The project would support the construction of new inpatient pediatric care capacity at Acadia Hospital within the larger “Acadia For All” expansion project, which is focused on building additional psychiatric inpatient care capacity; expanding child, adolescent and geriatric services; and developing the mental health workforce.
$1,198,000 would be used to replace 28 inpatient ventilators within the critical and intensive care and other high acuity care clinical areas throughout Eastern Maine Medical Center.
