JANUARY 2022.VOL. 22, NO. 01. PORTLAND, MAINE.
PORTLAND’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. FREE!
Mercy Hospital Opens New Emergency Department and Closes 144 State Street The emergency department at 144 State Street will close the same day the new emergency department opens on January 4th, 2022. lance entrance designed in consultation with EMS. And the rooms were designed It’s the end of an era for Mercy Hos- with patients and staff in mind. pital’s State Street medical facilities. The Sisters of Mercy served the Portland The new emergency department has community from the West End location at the same number of rooms as there were 144 State Street since the 1940s. But as of at State Street, 17 rooms for 17 patients. January 4th, 2022, the consolidation with But the rooms are larger, more private, Mercy’s Fore River Campus will be com- and better able to accommodate up-toplete and all emergency services will be date equipment. Also, each private room located at 175 Fore River Parkway. is separated with hard walls rather than curtains. Mercy divided services between two campuses, one on State Street and the And because the building was conother on Fore River Parkway, for more structed during the pandemic, they were than 13 years. Moving the emergency de- able to make mechanical changes to adpartment is the last step in the campus dress ventilation and improve air flow for consolidation project. today and the future. By Tony Zeli
Alicia Paquette, RN
Alicia Paquette, RN, Emergency Department Director said the medical staff were excited about the move. “It’s a new space, it’s bigger, and there’s more active visibility of your patients. We’re excited.”
Decommissioning the State Street Campus Over the months of January and February, Northern Light Mercy Hospital will decommission the State Street building moving equipment and closing everything down. Mercy will continue to be responsible for security on the premises right up until they turn the keys over to the property’s new owners.
The new emergency department is in Mercy sold the massive building at a 50,000 square foot addition to Mercy’s State Street that formally housed the main hospital building at the Fore River hospital in February 2020. The developcampus. It features a new covered ambu- ers Redfern Properties and NewHeight
Rules for Shoveling & Parking Ban Info for Portland By Tony Zeli The crew at the Portland Department of Public Works say they are ready for the season. They care for more than 560 lane miles of road. In addition to all those roads, the parks department clears off more than one hundred miles of sidewalks. But most sidewalks are the responsibility of city residents, and Portland has rules that you are expected to know.
Shoveling & Sanding Property owners must remove snow from public sidewalks. In fact, the City’s sidewalk snow removal ordinance requires business owners to Mercy's new emergency department's remove snow and ice from sidewalks covered ambulance entrance and a abutting their property within 12 hours patient room at the Fore River campus. following a storm. Residential owners -Photos by Tony Zeli must clear sidewalks abutting their property 18 hours after a storm or when the Group plan to rehabilitate the building City finishes their snow removal operainto market rate housing. tions, whichever is later. After January 4th, 2022, there will be A minimum of 4 feet. On all public no staff to see patients at 144 State Street. sidewalks and sidewalk access ramps, resTony Zeli is publisher and editor. Reach idents must clear a path at least four feet Cont'd on Page 3 him at thewestendnews@gmail.com.
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Northern Light Mercy Hospital’s emergency department moves
Interview with Portland City Councilor Roberto Rodriguez
Facing fears and going on a cruise with Nancy Dorrans
Cross country skier implores us to save our snow
( S e eP age3 )