21 Mar WCME Midcoast News March 21, 2016

Ortolani Dead in Florida

A man of considerable influence on the Midcoast has died while vacationing in Florida. Philip Ortolani was 66 years old and is widely credited with helping to boost the quality and accessibility of health care on the Midcoast while serving for 25 years as chief operations officer at Midcoast Hospital. Ortolani, who retired last fall, was walking with his wife Constance in Tampa when a car veered off the road and struck a utility pole, causing debris to strike the Ortolanis and another couple. Constance Ortolani is now recovering.

Police say the 68-year-old driver of the car had a sudden medical problem that caused the crash. Brunswick town councilor John Richardson, also vacationing in Florida, calls this “a horrible horrible loss.”