Woodbury Building on Southern Maine Health Care Campus Planned for Demolition

February 12, 2024

Contact: Caroline Cornish
caroline.cornish@mainehealth.org 

Sanford, MaineSouthern Maine Health Care (SMHC) will demolish its Woodbury Building at 27 June Street in Sanford beginning Friday, Feb. 23 and concluding by Tuesday, April 30. The building has become prohibitively expensive to maintain, no longer meets current building code for clinical or administrative space and is not fit for refurbishment or expansion.

A photo of the Woodbury building in Sanford, Maine.

During the demolition period, neighbors can expect increased noise, heavy equipment, dust and debris around the building site. Close to half of the building’s materials will be recycled, and specific elements will be preserved to honor the legacy of Dorothy Woodbury. The footprint of the building will remain green space. 

The Woodbury Building played an important role in the early success of Goodall Hospital. Upon its completion in 1929, it was the home of Goodall's nursing school and became a living space for Goodall nurses who served the hospital 12 hours a day, six days a week. 

In 1986, the building was named after Dorothy 'Dot' Woodbury, a nurse who gave over 55 years of service to the Sanford community. Woodbury was a student in Goodall Nursing School's first graduating class and lived in the building for two decades. She served as a nurse anesthetist and nursing director at SMHC.

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About Southern Maine Health Care
Southern Maine Health Care (SMHC) is a national award-winning health care organization with a non-profit mission “to improve the health and health care of the communities we serve.” SMHC includes a full service, acute care medical center in Biddeford, with York County’s only inpatient mental health unit. Emergency care, surgical services and diagnostic and therapy services are available at SMHC’s Medical Centers in Biddeford and Sanford. SMHC offers primary care and multi-specialty physician services, diagnostic and therapy services and Walk-In Care centers in York County communities including Biddeford, Kennebunk, Saco, Sanford and Waterboro. SMHC is Joint Commission accredited and has been recognized for quality excellence by numerous outside organizations. SMHC is part of the MaineHealth system, a growing family of health care services in northern New England. To learn more, visit www.smhc.org.