Waterville, Maine, hospital move raises fears of redundancy.

Publication: Kennebec Journal (Augusta, Maine) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Kennebec Journal

Byline: Chuin-Wei Yap

Oct. 20--WATERVILLE -- In two separate deals struck in September, MaineGeneral Medical Center and Inland Hospital this month stopped a two-decade practice of sharing the services of Waterville Anesthesia Associates.

On Monday, Inland switched its anesthesia-service contract from the Waterville group to Bangor-based Eastern Maine Medical Center's Anesthesia Professional Services.

Meanwhile, Waterville Anesthesia Associates now has a deal to provide services exclusively to MaineGeneral.

The developments, separately disclosed by the respective hospitals' officials, have sparked concern among city officials over what they see as an unnecessary duplication of resources, and may attract some attention from the state's competition regulators.

Earlier this month, officials at Inland and MaineGeneral announced coinciding plans to expand their Waterville operations. Inland submitted a $120 million plan to triple its existing size; MaineGeneral had a $66 million proposal to enlarge its Thayer Unit.

Waterville Anesthesia Associates' departure from Inland, which both sides have described as amicable, came amid...

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