MaineGeneral Medical Center filed a Certificate of Need application with the state for a new regional, inpatient hospital in north Augusta. The hospital has also applied for permission to update its Thayer Campus in Waterville. MaineGeneral currently operates two inpatient facilities, in Augusta and Waterville, and hospital officials say that set up is no longer viable. MaineGeneral Health President and CEO Scott Bullock said consolidating the two inpatient facilities at one hospital in north Augusta will help MaineGeneral attract top doctors, and operate more efficiently, decreasing the total number of beds from 287 to 226. The Thayer Campus would remain a fully-occupied outpatient hospital, with a 24-hour, seven-day emergency department, officials said. The estimated cost of the project is $322 million.
