Michaud leaves lasting legacy after shaping Maine hospital advocacy for nearly four decades

After nearly four decades advocating for Maine’s hospitals, longtime Maine Hospital Association president Steven Michaud has retired, closing a chapter that shaped the state’s healthcare policy and hospital landscape.

Michaud, who joined the Maine Hospital Association in 1987 and became its president in 1999, stepped down March 1 after almost 40 years with the MHA.
Over his tenure, Michaud became a recognizable voice for Maine’s hospital community, helping guide hospitals through decades of political, financial, and public health challenges while advocating for patients and caregivers across the state.
“Steven has been a steady, guiding force throughout the many changes that have taken place in healthcare here in Maine and across the nation,” said Jeff Austin, who succeeded Michaud as president.  “His leadership and dedication to Maine’s hospitals and the communities they serve have left an enduring mark on this organization and the healthcare system as a whole.”
During Michaud’s tenure, the healthcare landscape changed dramatically. Hospitals faced, and continue to face, growing financial challenges, new regulatory requirements, technological advancements, and evolving expectations about how care is delivered.
Michaud’s ability to build relationships across political and institutional lines has helped hospitals maintain a unified voice during complex debates over healthcare policy.  Michaud was also a steady presence during moments of crisis — from the economic downturns of the recession to public health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic — helping ensure that hospitals had a strong advocate in Augusta and beyond.
His long career with the association also coincided with a period when healthcare policy became one of the most prominent issues facing state governments.  Throughout it all, Michaud remained focused on the same goal: ensuring Maine hospitals could continue to serve their communities.
Michaud’s legacy will be measured not only in policy accomplishments, but also in the relationships he built and the stability he brought to the organization over nearly 40 years.
For MHA, it marks the end of a long chapter and the beginning of a new one built on the groundwork Michaud spent decades helping to create.