Miles and St. Andrews Home Health & Hospice (MSAHHH), the LincolnHealth-based agency that serves residents of Lincoln County, will merge into MaineHealth Care at Home on Oct. 1, 2018, agency administrators said.

Formed in 2007 when Miles Health Care and St. Andrews Hospital joined forces, MSAHHH will continue offering its high-quality home health and hospice services as a regional office of MaineHealth Care at Home. The agency will maintain offices in the Damariscotta region and its team of clinicians will continue to deliver home health and hospice services to the residents of Knox, Waldo and Lincoln counties. Kathy Bean, executive director of Miles & St. Andrews will serve as the new clinical director for the expanded Midcoast region.

“We believe this merger will strengthen our clinical delivery system,” said Bean, “and help us be more efficient as reimbursement from government payers (such as Medicare) declines. We’re also excited about having better access to innovative technologies like telemedicine.”

MSAHHH managers are confident that the organizational transition will not affect the continuity, availability, or quality of patient care, and that Damariscotta region patients can expect to receive the same full range of services provided by professionally trained and experienced nurses, therapists, health aides and social workers.

“As a combined entity,” said Donna DeBlois, CEO and president of MaineHealth Care at Home, “we will be stronger,and in a better position to care for the aging population in the coastal region of our state.”

A licensed 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit provider of home health care, MaineHealth Care at Home is a member of MaineHealth and was formed through the consolidation of formerly independent agencies such as Visiting Nurses of Southern Maine and Kno-Wal-Lin Home Health & Hospice. Services are provided to people of all ages, regardless of income, and include skilled nursing, rehabilitative therapies, hospice care, social work, home health aides, telehealth as well as community-based population health program.

For more information, contact Mia Millefoglie, vice president Development & Marketing at MaineHealth Care at Home at 1-800-660-4867 or go to www.mainehealthcareathome.org

This article has been updated from its original posting.