EASTON, ME — Town leaders are trying to recoup more than $100,000 that was loaned to the former owners of a now-closed health clinic.
With attorney Richard Currier, the town of Easton filed a complaint on April 4, 2017 in Aroostook County Superior Court against Angela and Andrew Buck, the former owners of Village Health Care.
Angela Buck, a family nurse practitioner, was recruited to operate the clinic in 2014. The clinic closed in December 2016, due to what was described in a letter to patients as financial problems and a personal medical issue being experienced by the provider.
While the town of Easton has been seeking to find another provider to replace the clinic, it is also seeking through court for the Bucks to pay a remaining $101,056 of an original $105,000 loan.
In August 2014, Easton gave the Bucks a loan of $105,000 at a 2 percent interest rate to start up the clinic, along with reduced rent. The Bucks made only six payments on the loan, with two of them being partial payments, the complaint said.
The complaint also alleges that the tenants removed equipment and furniture in the office that were included as collateral for the loan
Easton Town Manager Jim Gardner declined to comment on the issues in the complaint, citing the ongoing legal proceedings. The Bucks could not be reached for comment.
In an interview in December, Gardner said that the clinic was a much-needed addition to Easton, serving an estimated 500 local patients who would otherwise have to leave town to get primary care.
The town recruited the clinic in 2014, after acquiring and renovating a building near the town office, post office and grocery store, and rented the office space to the Bucks.
With six office staff and Buck as the sole provider, Village Health served families and senior citizens from Easton and nearby communities, including Amish families, offering office-based care, home care services and some lab testing.
It sold an annual subscription for comprehensive primary care at $750 per adult and accepted traditional insurances.
