On Jun. 30, 2016, the Foundation for Blood Research, a small, independent and nonprofit blood laboratory that served physicians and small hospitals in Maine for 43 years, closed its doors, and will auction its land and buildings on Aug. 10.

Sheehan pointed to the absorption of small hospitals and physicians by large hospitals, and the subsequent move of laboratory testing into those merged facilities, as the main reason for FBR’s demise, which started about five years ago with the health care merger and acquisition trend. Another drag on income was lower reimbursement rates for blood tests due to the Affordable Care Act.

“MaineHealth and others took over small hospitals. They hired physicians who were our customers and moved laboratories into the large hospitals. They bypassed us,” Sheehan said. One example she gave was NorDx, the largest regional laboratory in the state, becoming an integral part of MaineHealth. The downslide for FBR reached critical mass about one year ago, when FBR could no longer live off of its reserves.