WATERVILLE (AP) – Inland Hospital, which at one point last year was targeted for closure, is planning a $120 million expansion that would triple the number of beds from 48 to 150.

A primary acute-care facility founded in 1943, Inland filed its letter of intent with the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The filing Friday coincided with a $66 million plan by MaineGeneral Medical Center to close its Seton Unit in Waterville and move its services and staff to an expanded Thayer Unit.

One year ago, a state-appointed committee suggested in a draft report that Inland be closed. The recommendation drew criticism from the Maine Hospital Association, and the committee reversed itself when it came out with its final report.

At 150 beds, the enlarged Inland would be nearly as large as MaineGeneral’s 161 beds in Waterville, currently split between 108 at Thayer and 53 at Seton. MaineGeneral’s Augusta campus has 126 beds, bringing the hospital’s total to 287.

It was unclear from the letter of intent whether Inland plans to rebuild the hospital from the ground up or add to the existing facilities, said Steven Keaten, a health care financial analyst with DHHS. Inland’s letter did not spell out a time frame for the expansion.

The letters of intent open a new round of state health-care policy review. They set the stage for formal applications for Certificates of Need from the state.

The review cycle begins Jan. 1, launching a process in which the various applications compete for a pool of funds yet to be determined by the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance. The state then has until the end of May 2006 to decide on the applications.

Other letters of intent submitted last Friday include a $28 million cancer center at Eastern Maine Medical Center, a $9.5 million critical-care relocation at Central Maine Medical Center, $34 million in renovations and expansion at Maine Medical Center, and a $26 million in-patient facility at York Hospital.

Inland officials Tuesday confirmed the letter of intent, but declined to provide details of the plan ahead of a meeting with the City Council.

“We’re pretty excited,” said Sara Dyer, Inland spokeswoman. “But out of courtesy to the council, we can’t talk about it yet.”

Inland is part of the Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, whose hub is Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Information from: Morning Sentinel, http://www.onlinesentinel.com/