St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston will no longer operate its intensive care unit, a spokesperson said Wednesday. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal file

LEWISTON — St. Mary’s Health System announced Wednesday that it will cease operation of its intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center by the end of the year, citing low demand for the service, according to spokesman Benjamin Sullivan.

The hospital is “reshaping our care offerings to better serve the needs of our community in a fiscally responsible manner,” he said.

That means focusing on primary care, behavioral health, outpatient services, elder care and emergency and urgent care services, according a Wednesday news release.

Other health systems in the area offer ICU services and given St. Mary’s low patient volumes, roughly one patient per day, in that unit and taking financials into consideration it does not make sense for St. Mary’s to continue to offer that service, Sullivan said.

“By evaluating and realigning our services, especially those that are duplicated by others in the community, our goal is to focus on services that have the most significant impact on individual and community health,” he said.

St. Mary’s reported a $48 million loss in 2022, with losses reported in the couple of years before that. It has laid off staff and downsized services in the last several years.

Using nearly $9 million of state funding, the hospital will launch a behavioral health day program in 2025 to serve behavioral health patients recently discharged from in-patient care units but who still need a higher level of care than what traditional outpatient services provide. It will provide medication management and individual, group and families therapies, according to Sullivan.

“This service addresses a critical community need for continuity in mental health care and we are grateful for the support from the Maine state legislature to help make this program a reality,” he said.

The hospital has also added psychiatric nurse practitioners to its primary care practices, he said. “This integration aims to create a more holistic approach, enabling patients to access behavioral health support alongside their primary care needs.”

The hospital was also awarded nearly $4 million in congressionally directed funding earlier this year for its substance use disorder inpatient treatment unit.

All but six of the ICU staff accepted other positions within the hospital system, Sullivan said. The hospital has hired 39 providers and advanced practice professions, including two general surgeons and a gynecology provider.

“Our conversations with staff are ongoing and we remain committed to supporting employees in every way possible,” he said.

Six new primary care providers, along with a virtual primary care provider, will join the hospital between now and next March, he said. It has increased its recruitment efforts for primary care providers.