Blue Hill planning board approves hospital plan

A $25 million investment for the long term

- JEFFREY B. ROTH

BLUE HILL-During a February 9 comprehensive review of the $19.5-million Blue Hill Memorial Hospital building replacement project, the Blue Hill planning board unanimously approved both the commercial site review and shoreland zoning applications, with four conditions.

Those conditions, according to board chair Mary Alice Hurvitt, require that the hospital:

• manage its application and use of salt during icing conditions on the campus;

• eliminate or replace lighting around the COVID Building to match the new down shielded or otherwise night sky compliant lighting used on the new campus;

• evaluate and address drainage on the campus near the COVID building and the access drive from Parker Point Road;

• during the asbestos abatement program prior to the demolition of the old building, ensure the contractor will coordinate communication with abutting property owners as to the methods that will be employed to protect those areas from emissions related to demolition.

Hospital president John Ronan said during the meeting, “In the time that I've been serving, the one question that I get asked the most is, 'John, are you going to close down the hospital?' While I've always said, no, we're not going to close down the hospital, there've always been lingering questions in people's minds about it. This project will make an investment of over $25 million into this community to build a hospital that's going to be here for 50 years."

Project priorities

Ronan said the hospital will become an anchor for the community's healthcare system. The design of the project is based on four tenets that form the core of the vision and mission of Northern Light Health.