Media Contact: Clay Holtzman | Clay.Holtzman@mainehealth.org
Portland, Maine – Saint Joseph’s Rehabilitation and Residence, a post-acute care facility and wholly owned subsidiary of MaineHealth Maine Medical Center (MHMMC), is scheduled to close its doors on Friday, Sept. 20 All residents will be transferred to Fallbrook Commons, a new residential and rehabilitation facility operated by North Country Associates.
St. Joseph’s, founded in 1975, is closing to make way for an updated, contemporary facility offering amenities more consistent with today’s long term care experience. Staff employed by St. Joseph’s will transfer employment to Fallbrook Commons.
Saint Joseph’s was founded by The Archdiocese of Portland and was acquired by MHMMC in 2017. Since its acquisition, MHMMC has made significant investments to maintain operations, enhance the quality of care and maximize the facility’s use during its final years. The arrangement allowed St. Joseph’s to access workforce and clinical resources through MaineHealth.
“The decision to acquire and invest in this critical community resource was mutually beneficial to Saint Joseph’s, MHMMC and the Portland community,” said Britt Crewse, President of MaineHealth’s Southern Region, which includes St. Joseph’s and MHMMC. “We knew at that time that the facility would eventually require replacement, so we worked to build an appropriate transition plan that would ensure the continuation of care for residents and also look out for our care team.”
Fallbrook Commons is a joint venture development between North Country Associates, LLC and Sandy River Company, both Maine-based companies with decades of experience developing and operating senior care centers. North Country will be the operator of Fallbrook Commons. In 2019, MaineHealth, North Country and Sandy River Company announced the replacement and transition plan, an agreement that included the sale of St. Joseph’s bed licenses.
Fallbrook Commons is adjacent to the Fallbrook Woods campus in Portland’s North Deering neighborhood. It is a 102-bed state of the art senior care center comprised of three distinct “neighborhoods” of 34-beds; one dedicated to nursing home level memory care, one designed for short-term skilled nursing care and the third traditional long-term care nursing.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to transition our residents and their care plans to Fallbrook Commons. The facility will offer a greatly enhanced and more contemporary residential and post-acute care experience. It is also important that the team from St. Joseph’s will transfer over because continuity of the professionals who care for this population is clinically beneficial,” Dr. Richard Marino, medical director, MaineHealth Geriatrics Portland.
Across Maine and the United States, long term care centers are closing due to low reimbursement and staffing shortages, a trend that was made much worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, nine nursing homes have closed in Maine and the state has lost approximately 1,200 beds. This has significantly reduced long-term care access and caused many hospitals to house patients who are ready for discharge but must wait for a bed in a nursing facility to become available.
###
About MaineHealth Maine Medical Center
MaineHealth Maine Medical Center is a multi-campus medical center with locations in Portland, Biddeford and Sanford. The medical center is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system whose vision is “Working together so our communities are the healthiest in America.” With a total of 929 licensed beds, MaineHealth Maine Medical Center employs about 9,000 care team members. It is also an academic medical center offering training and education to residents and fellows, medical students, nursing students, surgical technicians and other professions. Its Portland campus provides tertiary-level care and is verified as a Level I Trauma Center. It also houses the MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, an acute care facility with 109 licensed beds and a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In Biddeford and Sanford, the medical center operates as a community hospital offering a variety of inpatient-based services. MaineHealth Maine Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission, and its Portland campus has received Magnet Recognition for Nursing Excellence four consecutive times and is consistently recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the Best Hospital in Maine.