Mid Coast–Parkview Health Announces Retirement of President Lois Skillings

	Lois Skillings, RN, MS, FACHE, President, Mid Coast–Parkview Health

On March 2, 2022, Mid Coast–Parkview Health announced that President Lois Skillings, RN, MS, FACHE, will retire in early 2023. The announcement was made in a joint statement written by Lennie Burke, Chair of the Mid Coast–Parkview Health Board of Directors, and Kelly Elkins, Chief Operating Officer of MaineHealth.

Skillings has worked for Mid Coast–Parkview Health in numerous nursing and leadership capacities since 1979, serving as president for the past 11 years. After earning her degree at Northeastern University College of Nursing, she began her career at Brunswick Regional Hospital as a medical-surgical nurse, then as an emergency nurse. She later earned her master’s degree in Nursing Administration from the University of Southern Maine. Prior to being named President and CEO of Mid Coast Health Services in 2011, she worked as Vice President of Nursing and Patient Services from 1995-2010, then Executive Vice President from 2010-2011.

"Lois’s commitment to the health of this community—her community—has been nothing short of admirable,” wrote Burke and Elkins in their joint statement. "She has made an extraordinary mark on local health care, and her efforts have helped to make our communities among the healthiest in Maine.”

Skillings helped guide the organization through a significant number of transformative changes. After the merger of the Bath Memorial and Brunswick Regional Hospitals to form Mid Coast Hospital in 1991, she was instrumental in the planning for a new hospital building that opened on Medical Center Drive in 2001, which was followed by a $21.3 million expansion in 2009. In 2015, Skillings also navigated the merger between Mid Coast Health Services and Parkview Adventist Medical Center to form Mid Coast–Parkview Health. In 2020, after a comprehensive exploratory process, she led Mid Coast–Parkview Health’s merger with MaineHealth, which paved the way for a comprehensive strategy to adopt MaineHealth’s shared electronic health record, Epic.

Skillings also oversaw the growth of Mid Coast Medical Group, including the construction of new buildings for primary care practices in Bath and Topsham, as well as the establishment of Mid Coast Medical Group–Brunswick Primary Care and the Mid Coast Hospital Walk-In Clinic. She actively participated in the successful completion of a capital campaign that expanded wellness and cancer care offerings on the Parkview Campus and significant upgrades to Mid Coast Senior Health, including construction of a new wing and numerous facility renovations.

The Mid Coast–Parkview Health Board of Directors and the MaineHealth leadership team are working to find a leader to succeed Skillings as the next president prior to her departure in early 2023, with a final retirement date to be determined. The search process will emphasize continuity of local culture, and the team will soon convene a committee to determine her successor. The committee will share updates on their progress.

Burke and Elkins shared their profound gratitude for Skillings and her service, writing, "She has cared for the organization and tended to its needs in such a way that empowers Mid Coast–Parkview Health to remain successful long into the future. We thank Lois for her 43 years of dedicated service caring for this organization, our care team members, and the patients and communities we serve.”