The Castine Community Hospital Corporation, established in 1928, owns and maintains the Castine Community Health Center for the provision of medical care to the people of Castine, Penobscot, Orland, Brooksville, and surrounding areas.
What's Happening Now?
What’s going on at the clinic?
If you’ve driven past the clinic in recent months, you’ve probably noticed a large container, a couple of dumpsters, trucks coming and going, and plenty of activity. Here’s what’s happening.
In preparation for the clinic’s reopening, the board of directors of the Castine Community Hospital Corporation has hired E.L. Shea, a general contractor from Ellsworth, to give the interior of the main floor a complete refresh.
Asbestos removed. The first and most demanding job was abating (the technical term for removing) all of the asbestos-containing flooring. The process is involved and expensive, but it means the building can be used for years to come without worry about contamination.
New fixtures throughout. The old flooring ran beneath the cabinets, so every cabinet had to come out. As a result, the exam rooms, lab, public bathrooms, and staff kitchen will all get new cabinets, countertops, sinks, and faucets. New flooring and fresh paint will finish the transformation.
Year-round comfort. No more hauling window air conditioners in and out each summer. New heat pump systems will provide air conditioning across the whole floor.
The board hopes these improvements will make the inside of the building feel completely renovated while preserving the original character of the outside. We hope the finished interior will serve our community for the next 100 years.
It is our intention to regularly update the community of our progress toward providing direct primary care once again on Court Street.
- Circulating more broadly the posting for the primary physician to head the DPC.
- Retaining a firm to help set up the “systems“ essential to the operation of the DPC (electronic medical records, patient enrollment, patient communication, financial operations, etc.).
- Working on the physical plant during this interim period ( e.g. retaining contractor to replace the flooring in the facility, purchasing new equipment for exam rooms, improving the HVAC system).
We regret that this is not a process which allows instantaneous solution, but we are proceeding as quickly as we are able.
- We have filed with the Secretary of State the Certificate of Formation for a nonprofit subsidiary of CCHC through which the DPC would run. This will be called the Castine Primary Care Clinic, CPCC.4.
- With our attorneys, we are reviewing the operating document for this subsidiary.
- We are in conversation with a physician whom we hope will be the primary provider.
- We are working on proforma budgets to determine what this will cost CCHC.
- We are reviewing the specific services which will be provided at this clinic.
- We are also trying to look forward - to consider what other services might subsequently be housed in our clinic (physical therapy, behavioral health, dental services, etc.)
News
Statement from the Board of the Castine Community Hospital Corporation
February 27, 2026
We regret that tomorrow will be the first day since 1928 that our clinic will not be providing access to medical care for residents of this area. While it is, indeed, a disappointing day, it is far from the end of this story.
