LEWISTON — Community members gathered at the Franco Center on Tuesday evening to learn about the proposed acquisition of Central Maine Healthcare by California-based company Prime Healthcare’s nonprofit arm, Prime Healthcare Foundation. It’s a move that could significantly reshape the region’s health care landscape.

The public information session, titled “Securing the Future of Healthcare in Central Maine,” brought out top officials from both organizations to present plans and to answer questions from residents concerned about the future of local health care services.

“The challenges are mounting and each one becomes more difficult to overcome … Our debt and aging infrastructure make for a very difficult challenge,” said CMHC CEO Steve Littleson.

The meeting comes amid ongoing discussions surrounding Prime Healthcare Foundation’s interest in acquiring the Lewiston-based health care system. Announced earlier this year, the deal would mark a major shift for Central Maine Healthcare, which comprises Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Bridgton Hospital and Rumford Hospital.

Littleson noted that Maine hospitals are overly reliant on MaineCare, with roughly 70% of CMHC’s business coming from government payers. In order for Central Maine Health to keep up, it needs help, he said.

“We need at least $25 million annually to invest, and for at least 10 years, we’ve invested half of that. Our teams, our patients and our communities deserve better … and we need to remain nonprofit,” Littleson said. “So, we chose (Prime) and they chose us.”

If the state approves the sale, Prime has committed to investing $150 million into CMHC over the next five years focusing particularly on facility upgrades, expansion of services and staff support. Littleson also emphasized that the names of the hospitals will not change, and all current donations will remain in the local communities.

“We’re not selling our hospitals,” he said. “(Prime) is taking on debt and pensions — and (is) committed to expanding Bridgton and Rumford hospitals and areas of CMMC.”

Fred Ortega, vice president of government affairs for Prime Healthcare Foundation, highlighted the organization’s roots and mission from a small successful hospital in the upper regions of the Southern California desert to 51 overall hospitals across 14 states. CMMC and Rumford and Bridgton hospitals will join 18 of those hospitals under Prime Healthcare Foundation, the national Prime Healthcare network’s nonprofit arm.

“We were founded by a physician and we are physician-led,” he said. “We don’t just operate hospitals — we give back beyond just keeping the doors open. Since 2010, we’ve provided $14 billion in charity care and supported efforts like UNICEF, Make-A-Wish, Heart Uganda, (and more).”

He also emphasized alignment with CMHC’s mission: “Our missions align very well. It will take two to three years to work on (infrastructure of) the very best CMH has to offer and then we want to bring everything else up to the highest standards … (And) we keep things local because we know how important local people are.”

Dr. Sonia Mehta, Prime’s Region 2 CEO who oversees 10 hospitals in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Rhode Island, spoke to the organization’s emphasis on quality. “Each and every hospital in Prime is very focused and has a culture of providing the best quality of care at the lowest cost,” she said.

She also noted that Prime Healthcare was the recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for patient safety and quality, a national recognition given by The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum.

Before Prime can move forward with the acquisition, it must obtain a Certificate of Need from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. That process is ongoing, and state approval is expected to be a major step toward finalizing the deal by this summer.

“Hopefully within 90 days we’ll have approval, and the sale will close before the end of the year,” Littleson said. “We promise to be open and transparent throughout the process.”