While having my blood drawn at MaineHealth’s Center in Bath recently, I noticed a sign on the wall notifying patients that, effective Jan. 31, the drawing station would be closed (permanently). Patients must now to go to Brunswick or Topsham instead. 

Drawing stations, where lab samples are taken for blood work or urinalysis, are fundamental to our health care. If we are unwell, it can diagnose the problem. If we have an ongoing condition, it can tell our doctors whether we’re improving or deteriorating. If we’re feeling healthy, as part of an annual checkup, it can tell us we succeeded in lowering our cholesterol, for instance, or warn us if something unsuspected has cropped up.

All patients need lab work to identify, treat and prevent a variety of medical conditions. Residents of Bath, and the surrounding communities of Woolwich, Arrowsic, Georgetown and Phippsburg, have always been able to stop by and get our lab work started right after a doctor’s appointment, or pop in for a draw when we happen to be in town. 

Closing MaineHealth’s Bath drawing station is not in the best interests of patients. Time-consuming travel to other towns, with longer wait times at larger venues, will make completing lab work more difficult for patients who have jobs, child care responsibilities and mobility challenges, while creating financial hardship for those with limited funds for transportation or without paid time off. 

Lab work postponed, or even skipped altogether, is treatment delayed. MaineHealth should not close Bath’s drawing station.

Susan Beegel
Phippsburg