Responding to the news that Houlton Regional Hospital (HRH) plans to close its Labor, Delivery, Recovery, and Postpartum (LDRP) department, HRH nurses will hold a town hall meeting Wednesday, April 9, at 5:30 p.m. at the Millar Civic Center in Houlton. Nurses were informed of the planned closure last week and say it is a disastrous decision for patients across their region, who could face much longer travel times to seek labor and delivery care. 

Members of the public will join nurses in their demand to keep their community’s LDRP department open and to demand more transparency and accountability in the hospital’s decision-making processes. 

Who: Houlton Regional Hospital registered nurses and members of the local community
What: Town hall meeting to discuss announced closure of Houlton Regional’s labor and delivery unit
When: Wednesday, April 9, 5:30 p.m.
Where: John A. Millar Civic Center, 94 Randall Ave., Houlton, Maine
Photo/video capture and interview opportunities with nurses available for press.

This news comes just after Mount Desert Island Hospital announced the closure of its own obstetrics unit, effective July 1, 2025, amidst a rash of several other maternal care departments closing across the state of Maine in recent years. 

Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (MSNA/NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), represents 4,000 nurses and caregivers from Portland to Fort Kent and nearly 70 nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital.

Maine State Nurses Association is part of National Nurses Organizing Committee, representing 4,000 nurses and other caregivers from Portland to Fort Kent. NNOC is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing labor union of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide.