Lincoln, Maine

Responses from five students in Mrs. Harris’ Social Studies class can be viewed below:

Brianna Dolley
“Research your topic and summarize the 'who, what, when, and where' in the form of a few paragraphs”

Margaret B. Workman was a nurse and the first owner of the Workman’s Hospital that was built in 1932. The first Workman’s hospital was actually in the upstairs part of a house on Lee Street. It only had two beds, so people that needed surgery had to get it done on the kitchen table at their own home. In 1934, the hospital was moved to Dr. Byron Porter’s house on West Broadway, and they then had four beds. They again ran out of room and moved to a bigger hospital on July 9,1937 when there was six doctors and ten nurses. This new house on High Street allowed them to have five hospital beds, a nursery, and four bassinets. This was because Margaret’s specialty was delivering babies.

In 1953, Margaret B. Workman died. The hospital did not shut down, however. It stayed open until 1966, when the hospital was denied Medicare re-certification. After this, the building was sold, torn down, and then rebuilt by the new owner. The location is where Dr. Weatherbee’s optometrist’s office is today.

This hospital was important to the town of Lincoln because it served the people of Lincoln. It was one of only a few small hospitals at the time. The nurses and doctors at the Workman’s Hospital saved countless lives and delivered lots of babies. It was the last private hospital to ever operate in Maine.

Dakota Ireland
“Create a ‘why’ question, research the answer, and create response answering the question”

Why did the Workman’s hospital close?

They had to close the Workman’s Hospital because they didn’t receive Medicare insurance payments. On July 1,1966 Medicare went into effect and the Lincoln Hospitals didn’t pass their inspections and didn’t receive Medicare certification. They also didn’t have very many rooms to treat the patients or an operating room to do the surgery that was needed. The Workman’s Hospital was very small, and they couldn’t handle very many patients at one time. The people of Lincoln were disappointed and decided to work together to build a new hospital that would meet the Medicare requirements. After the Workman’s Hospital closed, the Penobscot Valley Hospital was opened and they put a operating room in it. P.V.H. was opened to help more patients by providing more rooms than the Workman’s Hospital ever had in their facility.

Meghan Erving

How did Workman’s Hospital impact your life?

The way Workman’s Hospital has impacted my life is by being so important in Lincoln’s history. I have learned about it in school and how it had helped so many lives and gave life to new ones. Although my family had not been in the Workman’s Hospital, they knew where it was and what it looked like.

How did it impact your future?

The way Workman’s Hospital has impacted my future, is by giving me information I will pass on to my family. The Workman’s Hospital will never be forgotten, along with the people that worked there and the lives that were saved.

How did Workman’s Hospital impact our future as a town?

The Workman’s Hospital impacted our future as a town by having something there just in case there was a medical emergency. We also learned we needed a bigger and safer hospital. That’s how we ended up with Penobscot Valley Hospital, which today is shared by Lincoln and surrounding towns.

Works Cited

"Doctor/Dental." Doctor/Dental. 3 Apr. 2010. Web. 8 Apr. 2010. <http://www.antiquemystique.com/doctordental.htm>.

Goodwin, Beckie. “Workman's Hospital”. Lincoln: Beckie Goodwin, 2008. Print.

Gray, Bonnie. "A First-Person Account." Lincoln's History. Web. 8 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.lincolnmaine.us/new_history/history_business.html>.