LEWISTON, Maine — Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston will stop seeking verification as a trauma center at the end of this year, state emergency medical officials said, a change that will alter how some trauma patients are transported in central Maine.
Maine EMS notified providers this week that CMMC will no longer be verified as a Level II trauma center as of Dec. 1, 2025. Instead, it will be categorized as a “Trauma System Hospital,” a designation for hospitals that are not regional trauma centers but can provide trauma care and coordinate transfers when needed.
CMMC's emergency department medical director Dr. Erin Clark said the hospital would not be renewing the trauma center verification for financial reasons. She shared that the verification costs upwards of $500,000. Clark said CMMC's leaders feel that the money could be redirected to fund patient care instead.
Trauma centers are certified by the American College of Surgeons to provide a comprehensive level of trauma treatment and support, often including on-call surgical specialists and advanced emergency capacity. Maine currently has three designated trauma centers, including CMMC, MaineHealth's Maine Medical Center in Portland, and Northern Light Health's Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
Clark said she does not expect patient care services to change once the change takes place in December. She noted that the hospital will maintain its clinical doctors, nurses, and will still keep a staffed operating room. Clark added that the hospital already has to outsource to treat trauma patients who need brain surgery or who have extreme brain injury since the hospital stopped staffing neurosurgeons in 2021.
Maine EMS said it has been meeting with CMMC leadership, the state’s Trauma Advisory Committee, and other trauma centers to plan for the transition and assess potential impacts on patient care.
Although Clark said CMMC's ability to care for patients won't look much different, Maine EMS currently has protocols in place that may restrict severely injured patients who are transported in ambulances from receiving care at the hospital.
Under current trauma triage rules, EMS crews are instructed to transport trauma patients at high or moderate risk of serious injury to the nearest designated trauma center when that transport time is less than 45 minutes. If transport to a trauma center would take longer, patients should be taken to the closest hospital, including Trauma System Hospitals such as CMMC after Dec. 1.
Patients who are transporting themselves or their loved ones to the hospital are less likely to be impacted by CMMC's upcoming status change, but the restrictions of these protocols could mean the difference between EMS crews traveling to EMMC in Bangor or to Maine Medical Center in Portland instead of CMMC in Lewiston.
"The announcement very clearly stretches the distances. Patients may have to travel to get the care that they need," MaineHealth's Chief Medical Officer for its southern region Charles Morris said.
EMS officials emphasized that patients with immediate, life-threatening needs — such as unstable airways or severe bleeding — should still be transported to the nearest appropriate hospital, regardless of trauma center status.
Clark said leaders from CMMC are having ongoing conversations with Maine EMS to see if current protocols can be adjusted to allow trauma transports to CMMC if it is the closest hospital to a patient who is severely injured. She was not able to shed light on whether those ongoing conversations would likely be successful.
Morris said he is not worried about MaineHealth's ability to serve the influx of patients it may receive due to this change, but he said he is worried about the declining state of Maine's healthcare infrastructure.
"What I am worried about, though, is really what this announcement symbolizes, which is yet another sign of the real distress that hospitals and health systems in this state are experiencing," Morris said.
Northern Light Health's EMMC President Ava Collins said they, too, are ready to take on trauma patients who may land in their emergency rooms.
"Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center remains steadfast in our commitment to this community to provide the highest quality care," Collins said. "Our designation as a level two trauma center is our commitment to provide trauma care in this community, and that's important, and we have the resources and the expertise to do so. So, we stand ready to absorb patients, trauma patients as well as other patients as needed."
Collins said hospitals are under immense pressure. She acknowledges that this change could result in patients who may be experiencing life or death injuries being forced to be transported further distances, which could hurt their survival outcomes.
"Well, every minute does count, so that's why we want to ensure access to care as close to home as feasible," Collins said.
CMMC has faced staffing shortages and capacity strain in recent years, including temporary emergency department diversions and surgical service reductions.
Maine EMS said discussions will continue in the coming months as systems and transport planning are adjusted before the change takes effect.