Northern Maine General’s Financial Woes Send 75 Clients to Aroostook Nonprofit
Staffing shortages and stagnant MaineCare reimbursements drove the Caribou nonprofit to close programs affecting 154 clients.
The Central Aroostook Association will take over management of 75 clients from Northern Maine General starting April 1, after the Caribou-based nonprofit decided to close several programs for financial reasons, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Northern Maine General said in January that the closures would affect 154 clients and 12 professional staff members. The Presque Isle-based association has hired four of those employees: a case management supervisor, two case managers and an employee who will be an education technician. Some clients will keep their current caseworker.
"The collaboration assures that no one will go without services," said Jamie Guerette, the association's director of people and engagement.
According to chief operating officer Carl Michaud, the move raises the association's number of case workers from five to eight and the number of people it serves from 150 to 235. The partnership grew out of contact between Northern Maine General CEO Michelle Raymond and association Executive Director Martin Puckett.
Raymond has said staffing shortages and MaineCare reimbursements that failed to keep up with rising costs drove the decision, and that other clients would move to other programs or be referred to local providers. Programs that will stay open include Northern Maine General's residential waiver brain injury program, its home and community-based services and its oversight of shared living. The organization closed Mercy Home, its Eagle Lake nursing home, in May 2025.
This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.
