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At least 26 nursing homes in Maine have closed in the past decade. 

For her latest story, health care reporter Rose Lundy drove up to Caribou, where a nursing home owner who has been in the business for nearly 50 years is considering throwing in the towel. Just this week, he closed a facility in Presque Isle, which had been “hemorrhaging” money because it couldn’t find staff. Caribou Rehab and Nursing, which his father left potato farming to open in 1973, absorbed some of the residents — but it has challenges of its own.

Rose asked him whether the state's effort to reform nursing home reimbursement rates, underway this summer, could mitigate some of his concerns. He's not convinced. 

“They have a lot of desirable goals but if you do not pay facilities sufficiently, you’ll never achieve those goals,” he told her. “You can’t serve burgers if you have a mac and cheese budget.”

There's plenty more food for thought in Rose's story. Happy reading. 

— Stephanie

A Maine nursing home owner has been in the business for nearly 50 years. He wants out.

Phil Cyr and his family at one time owned three nursing homes in northern Maine, with his parents and five siblings all involved in some form. Now he is the only family member working in the nursing home business and Caribou Rehab and Nursing Center is the only facility still operating.

He says running a nursing home has become increasingly difficult due to complex regulations, statewide staffing shortages and low reimbursement rates. “Today no businessman in his right mind would get into this business,” he said.

Read this story by Rose Lundy of The Maine Monitor.

In Hancock, a years-long restoration project brings hope to a sinking marsh: Centuries of farming have altered the flow of water in Old Pond Marsh. Restoration experts are racing against time to save it. Read this story by Kate Cough, co-published with the Portland Press Herald.

Law enforcement officers can now get a warrant to take someone into protective custody: A Maine Monitor analysis finds the number of weapons restriction orders statewide has jumped from an average of two to 32 per month since the Lewiston shootings. Read this story by Emily Bader.

As they rebuild, Downeast businesses take lessons from January’s storms: Many coastal businesses have had to decide whether to abandon their enterprises or rebuild, hoping to fortify their properties against future major storms — in some cases with a cash infusion from the state. Read this story by Jacqueline Weaver.

A letter home from Iceland's fast-melting glaciers: Seasonal ice melt is natural, but not at the pace at which it is happening now. Read this story by Annie Ropeik.

The Maine Monitor announces collaboration with the Associated Press: The Maine Monitor is one of several nonprofit newsrooms to enter into a new content sharing agreement with the AP, expanding the reach of local news. Read this story.

As residential care homes expand in Maine, seniors don’t always get the care they need

Between 1996 and 2022, the number of nursing home beds dropped by nearly 3,680, from a high of more than 10,000, sparing Maine the financial burden of subsidizing them. The disappearance of nursing home beds is sending thousands to “nonmedical” residences that aren’t equipped to handle more intensive health needs.

Read this story by Rose Lundy. 

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