(August 2005) - Behind every scar, there is a story. In a high corner of the old Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, there is a crawl space above the eaves. Remove a vent and you'll see blackened floorboards butt up against clean wood. Here is an old wound, now healed, a reminder of the fire that destroyed the hospital the night of June 7, 1929.
Ah, but it didn't destroy the hospital! Though badly damaged, much of it was saved, and the rest was rebuilt. A great column of smoke rose into the sky that summer evening long ago, and the sound of the alarm drew hundreds. Nurses evacuated the patients. Men stood on ladders, training hoses on the fire. Others removed the precious X-ray equipment, even as the building filled with smoke. Beds and cabinets and the operating room table were scattered about the lawn under the very same elm trees that stand there today. As that summer and fall unfolded, the entire community was caught up in fundraising for the reconstruction.
The effort hasn't stopped; the work of keeping our hospital continues. If you are a donor, that's you, carrying a baby to safety. When you write letters to elected officials, that's you, standing on a ladder with a fire hose. If you volunteer your time, that's you, with a wrench in your hand, taking equipment from the flames. If you buy your healthcare locally, that's you, ensuring we will be here tomorrow.
The past year saw challenges, like State taxes that drained $260,000 from our bottom line. But we saw great success, too: We added physicians to our Emergency Department and began a hospitalist program. We joined with Dr. Craige Williamson to create a Hand and Shoulder Center. We raised over $840,000 in gifts. We saw legislative action reduce the damage caused by Tax and Match. We were recognized as first in the nation for patient satisfaction for inpatient and emergency care.
We agreed to become a member of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, an affiliation that will help us meet the quality standards of the future, increase the availability of healthcare services in our community, and make us financially stronger – while preserving local control of our hospital.
And while this was going on, we saw over 50,000 patients. We saw them one at a time, each an individual deserving of personalized, compassionate healthcare of outstanding quality. We cared for them like they were our own family, our friends, neighbors, and guests -- for that is who they are.
Demand for our services will continue to increase. Our population is growing at the rate of 10 percent per decade and in a single generation the average age has increased by 9 years. Though funding is limited, our region will need more healthcare services in the future, not less.
BHMH is entering its ninth decade, the prime of life. The Founders and those who followed built this hospital not once but twice. They saw it through depression and war and all the troubles life bestows. We are privileged to follow in their footsteps and imitate, as best we can, their determination and courage. They bequeathed us their stubbornness. No matter the challenge, we need this hospital, so we will keep it. |
|
