AUGUSTA -- The superintendent of the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor will begin double duty later this month when she fills in as head of the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta on a temporary basis.

Mary Louise McEwen will serve as interim superintendent until a replacement is found for departing Superintendent David Proffitt, who took a job with a private psychiatric facility.

"I plan on spending equal time at both places," McEwen said. "I think visibility is key. It's important people are able to see me at both facilities."

McEwen has served as superintendent of the Bangor hospital since 2001, and has spent more than 26 years in the health care industry, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

She is also a lieutenant colonel in the Maine Air National Guard.

Proffitt, who worked at Riverview for four years, recently announced he is taking a job at Acadia Hospital in Bangor.

The department will launch a national search for a new superintendent, John Martins, spokesman for state's health and human services department, said. It took nearly two years to hire Proffitt.

"It's a competitive process," he said. "It's a skill set you have to look for. It's something that takes a significant amount of time."

McEwen, who will begin splitting her time Sept. 22, said there are many similarities between Riverview, a 92-bed facility, and Dorothea Dix, which has 60 beds.

She said she plans to share the best practices at both hospitals to bring improvements to the system as a whole.

"It will be good for both facilities to have somebody looking at it from that perspective," she said.

Susan Cover -- 620-7015

scover@centralmaine.com