It is no surprise to anyone that the recent iVantage report prepared and paid for by the group opposing the pending closure of Boothbay’s St. Andrews Hospital, concluded there was no reason to close the hospital and its emergency department.

It is no surprise to anyone that the earlier Navigant report prepared and paid for by the hospital’s governing body, Lincoln County Healthcare, concluded there were lots of reasons to close the hospital’s emergency room.

It looks to me like both sides spent a whale of a lot of money to get someone tell them what they wanted to hear in the first place.

One thing seems clear. From the reaction of their customers, it looks like Lincoln County Healthcare and its parent, Portland’s MaineHealth, made a bad business decision and misjudged their market.

In business, this happens from time to time. Remember the Edsel? Or the Pontiac Aztek, the Cadillac Cimarron or the Chevy Corvair? All were rolled out with great fanfare and rejected by the public.

In our corner of the world, LCH’s boss, Jim Donovan, who has a past history of closing a hospital, was brought on to run LCH, a combination of St. Andrews and Miles Memorial hospitals.  

Over the years, he quietly shifted stuff and services from St. Andrews to Miles in Damariscotta, until the former was just a shell of its former self. Then he packed the board of directors with hospital employees, and hired a consultant who concluded St. Andrews had so little business it should be closed. 

Using the same logic, one could argue that if the local Irving gas station quit selling gasoline, it would lose money and customers, too.

Funny thing: our local doctors, the folks who are responsible for the patients (customers), have been silent, except for Nancy Oliphant. But then the docs, including the handful on the LCH board, owe their paychecks to Donovan, so I guess they have at least some reason to ignore the wishes of their patients.

On the other side, the anti-closing task force folks made it plain they feel betrayed by Donovan. After all, they are the customers. They are mad as heck and say they won’t take it anymore.

So, on one hand, we have the hospital brass standing pat. On the other hand, their customers are doing the same.

I wonder if it is time for some grownups to take charge before we wind up in court.

I know there are grownups on the LCH board. There are grownups on the task force, too. Is it time to put the consultant reports and puffed up egos away, turn down the volume, sit down at the table and work out a solution for the good of all? 

No one expects LCH/MaineHealth to turn St. Andrews Hospital into the Mayo Clinic, or Mass General Hospital, although it would be a great location for a specialty clinic of one sort or another.

But surely, after all the customers and the community have done for the hospital, its docs and administration, there is a better solution. And it is not a daytime only “doc in a box” clinic.

Despite what they say in Washington, D.C., compromise is not a dirty word. It is shorthand for a “win-win” solution.

I hope someone is listening.