BANGOR, Maine — Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center announced on Wednesday that it will close its inpatient acute rehabilitation program at the end of the year.
The program treats patients with traumatic injuries and those recovering from surgery.
"This change helps us meet the greatest needs of the community with the resources we have available and will not reduce our employed staff as there are hundreds of open positions at EMMC and throughout Northern Light Health," spokeswoman Amy Kenney told NEWS CENTER Maine. "This program change affects under 50 employees."
Kenney said in an email to NEWS CENTER Maine this program change will not lay off employees, and the staff is working to ensure patients are placed appropriately to continue their rehabilitation.
"Our care management team is presently working and prepared to assist in placing patients appropriately to ensure their rehabilitation needs are met and will work diligently to ensure the patient is in the right place, at the right time," Kenney said.
Meanwhile, the President of the Maine State Nurses Association, Cokie Giles, said this closure is very concerning not only for the nurses needing to apply for a different job but for the patients.
"It's quite, quite frightening to know that that unit is not going to be available to them anymore," Giles said. "People don't, they sometimes need long-term therapy in order to regain their strength, their mobility, their ability to actually go back to their life beforehand. And that's what these nurses did for them."
No additional information is available.