health matters - mainegeneral health
TRANSCRIPT
Bringing care closer to home.Enhanced AccessNew technologies are making it even easier for you to get great care close to home
Expanding HopeCombining two of our signature events for one great cause
Exciting UpdatesAt the Thayer Center for Health and Alfond Center for Health
Spring 2020
HealthMattersA Journal of Wellness and Good Health Care
We’re With You during the COVID-19 pandemic
HealthMatters is published as a service for the people of the Kennebec Valley region. Information is written by MaineGeneral’s Marketing and Communications staff. MaineGeneral Health 35 Medical Center Parkway Augusta, ME 04330 149 North Street Waterville, ME 04901Nicole O. McSweeney Executive EditorChief Marketing & Philanthropy OfficerJoy McKenna Editor/WriterJohn D. Begin Writer/PhotographerJuliet Graves Writer/PhotographerAdam Gurin Art DirectorSarah B. Webster Writer/PhotographerBoard of Directors Stephanie Calkins, MD James Clair Michael Clark, MD Nate Cotnoir Cathy DeMerchant Greg Feero, MD David Flanagan Chuck Hays Jeffrey Hubert, Chair Joey Joseph Janice Kassman James LaLiberty, Esq. Barbara Mayer Peter Mills Alane O'Connor, DNP Gary Peachey Kenji Saito, MD Scott Small Matthew [email protected] you no longer wish to receive this publication, please email us. Information in HealthMatters comes from a wide range of medical experts. If you have any concerns or questions about specific content that may affect your health, please contact your health care provider.Models may be used in photos and illustrations.
Copyright ©2020
Printed on April 8, 2020
HealthMatters
In This Issue
We’re With You When You Need Us Most ................................................................................ 4
Greater Access, Enhanced Care ............................................................................................. 8
State-of-the-Art Cancer Care ................................................................................................12
Right Where She Belongs ......................................................................................................13
A Day of Hope .......................................................................................................................14
Recent Thayer Center for Health Updates .............................................................................16
New Bed Capacity at the Alfond Center for Health ................................................................17
A Legacy of Caring ................................................................................................................18
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Message from the CEOWe began this issue before COVID-19 changed everything for our community – and our health system.
We paused this publication so we could focus all of our resources on COVID-19. We have added information about our team during the planning and preparation for COVID-19, as well as the way we’ve met daily challenges.
We’d also like to thank each and every one of you for your support during this difficult time. The outpouring of offers of help — whether donations of homemade masks or other equipment or simple messages of thanks — has helped us take care of others. Thank you, also, for practicing social distancing. We know everyone is making sacrifices.
During this unprecedented time, we’re here for you and your family. This is a challenging time for everyone, and we appreciate you entrusting your care to us. We’ve trained for this, and while there are great unknowns, be assured that you have skilled, compassionate care when you need us.
You also want the best technology to help you get the access and quality care you deserve. That’s why this issue focuses on what we’re developing to help you get this level of access and care every day.
“State-of-the-art” and “high-tech” are buzzwords often used to describe the latest and greatest innovations in health care.
You expect and deserve the highest-quality patient-centered care possible. Our goal is to give you that level of care every time you come for an appointment, blood work or unexpected Emergency Department or Express Care visit.
We’ve upgraded our technology and we’re the first medical center in the state to use some new equipment and techniques that help our medical staff give you the best care.
We’re also using technology in new ways to help you access services, letting you have more say over how and when you get your care.
Remote patient monitoring is now helping our patients with congestive heart failure stay at home where they want to be with the aid of tablets and other equipment that help monitor their health.
Results of this program started earlier this year are already showing that the technology helps people stay at home instead of having to come into the hospital for emergency care. This program will expand to COPD and pneumonia patients in the coming months.
Save My Spot is now available at all three MaineGeneral Express Care locations: Augusta, Gardiner and Waterville. You can see wait times on your cell phone or computer, check in to save your spot at an Express Care location before you go, or even pick a time later in the day to show up, moving you ahead in the process before you arrive.
Our vision is to be the leading regional health care system in Maine, recognized for clinical excellence and service, high value, and impact on community health.
Offering you more ways to get your care – ways that are responsive to your schedule and your needs – is important to you. We’re proud to be leading the way in giving you the options you want, and the care you deserve.
Chuck HaysPresident & CEOMaineGeneral Health
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We’re With You When You Need Us Most
The world as we know it changed back in March when COVID-19 became a global pandemic. Schools and businesses closed; travel came to a standstill; curfews were ordered. And so much more. In the midst of this unprecedented global health care crisis, it was MaineGeneral Health’s chance to shine. For our patients and families. For our communities. For each other.
“At MaineGeneral, we take pride in our professionalism, in our expert training and experience and, most of all, in our compassion for others in our daily work,” says Chuck Hays, president and CEO. “We care about the people we treat because they are co-workers, neighbors and friends. They are family.”
Since day one of the COVID-19 crisis, MaineGeneral has taken an “all-hands-on-deck” approach to best serve our patients and their families – and to support each other.
• changing delivery of services to focus on patients with urgent health needs, including those with COVID-19;
• limiting access to our facilities to put social distancing into full effect;
• intensifying our patient screening efforts and including family members and staff;
• redeploying staff to critical areas to strengthen our response to this pandemic across departments;
• communicating daily with staff and the community on what we are doing; and
• following disaster readiness: plan, prepare, practice.
when you need us most.We’re with youKristy Knight, RN, and Sabrina Neves, RN, Endoscopy, ACH
Margie Peterson and Julie Kelley, RN, Cardiac Cath Lab, ACH
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During this crisis, we have made every effort to give our staff additional support and help them balance work, family and their own fears. “They are true heroes,” Hays says.
Among ways MaineGeneral supports staff during the COVID-19 crisis, the system contracted with several area child care facilities to care for children of employees while they couldn’t go to school – at no cost to the employee. More than 150 children have been taken care of in these centers so their parents could continue to work and worry less about their families.
MaineGeneral Orthopaedics Immediate Access MaineGeneral Orthopaedics offices in Augusta (15 Enterprise Drive) and Oakland (107 FirstPark Drive) started Immediate Access on Monday, March 23. This is no-appointment, walk-in access for patients with broken bones, sprains, dislocations, wounds and cuts. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This access helps relieve some of the current pressure on primary care, Express Care and the Emergency Departments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients have been very pleased with the service as well. Thank you to MaineGeneral’s orthopaedic team for quickly responding to organizational and patient needs.
Laurel Parker, MD, medical director, Emergency Department
Michael MacKechnie, MD, Orthopaedics, and patient
“Their willingness to serve, in whatever capacity was needed, is truly awe-inspiring. I couldn’t be more proud of every single employee for their dedication, flexibility and kindness. In our support of our communities,
we want people to always know ‘We’re here for you.’
Chuck Hays, president & CEO,
MaineGeneral Health
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MaineGeneral Health Employees RespondMaineGeneral staff feel privileged to take care of patients. We consider our work more than a job. We come from all walks of life, each with our own reasons and stories for why we are here at MaineGeneral. In spite of our differences – or maybe because of them – in times of adversity, we come together. We are one for our patients, their families and each other. While COVID-19 is a health crisis we will never forget, we will also never forget how we have come together.
“I have seen such positive staff morale from all departments,” says James Burdick, manager of Housekeeping at the ACH.
One area in which staff have gone above and beyond is our redeployment effort. To provide adequate staffing across the organization, we identified areas and jobs that were temporarily changed or suspended due to the COVID-19 situation and reassigned them temporarily to areas with increased critical staffing needs. As such, employees may be re-assigned temporarily to areas in need. It has been an incredible win-win for everyone.
Denise Breer, RN
Denise Breer, RN, is one of several nurses from MaineGeneral’s Quality Department helping to staff the COVID-19 screening tents outside the Emergency Department at MaineGeneral’s Alfond Center for Health in Augusta and Thayer Center for Health in Waterville. “This is a time when we all need to adjust the way we support our community, and I’m happy to do so,” she says. “Working in the ED screening tent is one small way of helping people get the care they need while reassuring them during this stressful time.”
Jo Horn, volunteer services coordinator
Jo Horn, volunteer services coordinator, is redeployed at the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care (HACCC) helping screen patients and visitors and ensure “social distance” while patients wait for lab draws. “I feel fortunate to have this opportunity to learn more about a different department of the MaineGeneral family! I am in awe of the staff here! Every patient is treated with such respect! It
makes me even more proud of the organization and the services we provide to the community. We really are ‘here for you!’”
Tony Solis, wellness coach
“The redeployment scenario has been an incredibly rewarding and eye-opening opportunity for me personally,” says Tony Solis, a wellness coach with MaineGeneral’s Bariatric Center who is also screening patients and visitors at the HACCC. “Patients are so grateful for the screening process. They understand that we’re here to help to keep them as safe and healthy as we can in these unprecedented times. I’ve enjoyed creating a rapport with many folks coming in on a daily basis and making the whole process relaxing.”
“I cannot believe how well the Sports Medicine team has adapted to doing screening for child care centers,” says Chris Sementelli, director. “We’ve felt fortunate to serve our community in this way and it’s been perfect for us because we work with kids every day. This gives us a broader sense of the community within and outside MaineGeneral and has been a win-win all the way around. Out of this tragedy will rise a better sense of community. Amazing!”
“People have really pulled together. I am truly impressed with the way all staff are being empathetic and supportive of
each other in daily interactions. The culture of MaineGeneral is truly shining through and
it shows just how strong and united our entire MaineGeneral
team really is.
James Burdick, Housekeeping Manager
For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit:
Maine CDC www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc
MaineGeneral’s website www.mainegeneral.org
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We would be remiss if we didn’t thank the community for their overwhelming support during this crisis. Yet words don’t seem like enough. From handmade thank-you signs at our facilities and on people’s lawns, to donations of personal protective equipment and handcrafted masks, we have felt your support through every day and every challenge.
Patients’ positive comments have helped keep us motivated as well. “These are difficult times for so many, but the people I dealt with at my appointment were helpful and polite,” says a patient of the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care. “Though they took their mission to be prepared for an emergency situation seriously, they were still able to smile or laugh when appropriate. I’m very grateful for an excellent visit.”
“Considering the coronavirus issue that is at hand, they did an amazing job at keeping people separated and monitoring the
situation.
MaineGeneral Augusta Express Care patient
“This visit was in relationship to being sick and concerned it could be coronavirus-related,
which it was not. The office was taking proper precautions and
that was very important.
Oakland Family Medicine patient
“I appreciated the care very much as well as the quick
service over the phone. We should really commend medical
staff for still doing their jobs when everyone else is in
quarantine at home.
MaineGeneral Waterville Express Care patient
“We’re with you!” is our philosophy here at MaineGeneral. During
this pandemic, we have really felt that you’ve been with us.
Thank you.
The Augusta Police Department and Augusta Fire & Rescue arrived at the Alfond Center for Health April 6 to thank MaineGeneral employees for taking care of our community.
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Enhanced CareGreater Access,
now available!
Trying to access needed health care services in a rural state can be difficult, especially when a lack of reliable or consistent transportation presents a barrier for patients.
MaineGeneral Health is helping to address this issue with the launch of several new innovative digital health programs.
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) came online in January 2020 and now assists dozens of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) who receive services through MaineGeneral HomeCare and the Kennebec Valley Community Care Team (KVCCT). Additional patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be added to the program this spring, with a goal of having 100 to 150 patients using the monitoring devices in the first year.
On the heels of this launch, in early March, came the eagerly-awaited offering, Save My Spot, which allows patients to reserve an appointment at MaineGeneral Express Care’s sites in Augusta, Gardiner and Waterville.
Mobile check-in at primary and specialty practices is also coming later this year.
These fledging efforts are just the start of the organization’s entry into the world of digital health and telemedicine.
Chuck Hays, MaineGeneral’s president and CEO, says the start of digital health programs at MaineGeneral represents an exciting new aspect of providing health care to residents in central Maine and beyond.
“These efforts allow us to provide greater health care access for our community. Programs like remote patient monitoring also help improve our overall care and reduce both trips to the emergency department and hospital readmissions. If you can address two of the biggest challenges in health care – access and cost – it’s a home run.”
Hays says MaineGeneral’s digital health initiatives are the latest examples of the organization’s commitment to the health of patients, families and communities.
“It shows that if we see a technology that will help our community, we’ll figure a way to make the investment and do it.”
Greater Access, Enhanced Care
MaineGeneral’s focus on technology and quality all year round has helped us meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what some of our recent efforts mean for patients and the community now and into the future.
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How to Use Save My SpotReady to see wait times and save your spot at MaineGeneral Express Care? Here’s how you use this new service.
1Go to www.mainegeneral.org/savemyspot. You’ll see this page where you can get answers to frequently asked questions.
2Click on this button when you are ready to see Express Care wait times and save your spot.
You’ll first be asked if you’ve been a patient at MaineGeneral before. You don’t have to be an established patient to use this service.
On the left-hand panel you’ll see each of MaineGeneral’s three Express Care locations along with the current wait times at each.
3You can click on the Save My Spot button for the next available time slot at the location of your choice. You can also click on “View More Appointments” which shows you other available slots on the day you choose.
After you make your selection, click on the slot you want and hit “Next” below it. You’ll next be taken to a page to enter your information to help save time when you arrive at the practice. Please use your legal first and last name on this page. You must fill out each field with an asterisk.
4Confirm your information and save your spot by clicking on the “Reserve Your Spot” button. You’ll get a confirmation on the screen and a text message to your cell phone.
We’ll see you at MaineGeneral Express Care!
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Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)Remote patient monitoring was the first project to come online, says Director of Information Services Rick Boudreau who, along with Lead Informatics Specialist Lyra Collard, led its implementation. The duo also was tasked to do the same with the virtual visits program.
Boudreau notes that RPM has been well received by the patients who use it daily to track their weight, blood pressure, oxygen level and medications compliance.
Patients about to be discharged from the hospital, as well as those at home receiving HomeCare services, are taught how to use the tablet-based Bluetooth system and its measurement devices – scale, blood pressure machine and oxygen sensor. If the patient has any recurring medications, that information is pre-programmed by staff so they receive medication reminders during the day.
Each morning, patients use the system to send their vital statistics with the click of a button. Their vitals are then monitored by KVCCT staff on weekdays and HomeCare staff on weekends. Elevated vitals or other concerning data bring a follow-up call from staff and, if needed, conversations with the patients’ primary care providers to determine a course of action.
The intent, Boudreau says, is to address issues early before they become acute and require a trip to the hospital.
Boudreau notes that, while initial users of RPM are patients with CHF and COPD, the program has great potential to expand to other diagnoses in the future.
Jess Nalesnik, Jennifer Clements and Chris Merckens wholeheartedly agree. All three work closely with the program – Nalesnik and Clements with KVCCT and Merckens with MaineGeneral HomeCare. The trio also agrees that the new program already has had its share of successes.
Clements notes that in the first 32 days after the program started, only one patient being monitored returned to the Emergency Department.
“And, in that case, she went because she started to develop pneumonia, something we probably couldn’t have prevented through the use of this system,” she says.
Merckens and Nalesnik share the story of an 89-year-old patient who was spared a hospital visit after her high blood pressure was successfully treated through a medication adjustment by her primary care provider.
“When I asked her if she’d like to be in the program, she said, ‘I think it’s great that someone wants to look after me on a regular basis,’” says Merckens, HomeCare’s manager of Quality Programs. “She’s now discharged from HomeCare, is being monitored by the CCT staff and hasn’t had a visit to the Emergency Department or a readmission to the hospital.”
“It was a perfect example of why we’re doing remote patient monitoring,” says Nalesnik, KVCCT’s manager of Care Management, adding that patients with CHF account for MaineGeneral’s highest hospital readmission rate at about 15 percent.
“Our medical staff can see what those patients are doing and
can intervene sooner before a medical issue worsens.
Rick Boudreau “When she saw her blood pressure reading was very high,
she knew a nurse would be alerted and would call her right
away.
Jess Nalesnik
Jennifer Clements, left, and Jess Nalesnik demo the RPM kit’s devices.10 | HealthMatters10 | HealthMatters
Future GrowthBoudreau notes that while MaineGeneral is stepping into the digital health world with its 2020 offerings, its Board of Directors, senior leadership and Digital Health Steering Committee recognize that the future points to a greater use of technology to meet the current and evolving health care needs of its patient population.
This recognition led to the hiring of Laura Mrazik for a new telehealth coordinator position that will chart a cohesive, comprehensive approach for these efforts.
“We needed to have someone with a full-time focus on MaineGeneral’s digital health initiatives,” he says.
Charting a course through new watersAs the point person for MaineGeneral’s entry into digital health care, Laura Mrazik’s daily work life is a complex mix of many moving parts. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Mrazik, who has a master’s degree in public health and has worked in several different positions during her nearly eight years at MaineGeneral Health (MGH), started in early February as the system’s first telehealth coordinator.
In this capacity she oversees two of the first three efforts – remote patient monitoring (RPM), which launched in January, and other initiatives to follow.
Her initial efforts have been dedicated to working with various MaineGeneral staff to develop new workflows that ensure program success for both the patients who are or will be using them and the clinical staff supporting them.
“I think my role is really to help ensure we implement these projects the right way, taking into consideration all of our internal stakeholders and our patients, and thinking about what the measures of success are going to be,” she says.
Part of the work needed for completely new ventures involves developing the right business and staffing models for each and crafting a plan for future expansion.
“As we consider expanding programs like remote patient monitoring, for example, we want to make sure we’re fiscally responsible in moving forward, doing things like looking for grant funding to support elements of it,” Mrazik says.
“Understanding changes in insurance reimbursement for these services is going to be another big part of my role. Telehealth is a rapidly expanding field and insurance companies are trying to catch up. They’re just now opening up billing codes for RPM,” she adds.
“One reason my position was created was to have one person for everyone to connect with in developing, implementing and maintaining these programs.”
During her time at MaineGeneral, Mrazik has worked closely with grant programs and, for the past four years, has been director of Accountable Care, where she established solid working relationships with various insurance companies. She also served as co-director of MaineGeneral Prevention & Healthy Living, which is the foundation of her desire to find telehealth services that meet patient needs.
She will rely on this varied experience, her working relationships with MaineGeneral’s senior leaders and other key staff, and support from the Northeast Telehealth Resource Center in Augusta to help build a comprehensive digital health program for the organization and those it serves.
“We want to give patients greater access to care and technology will help us do that,” Mrazik says. “It’s a very exciting time for patients because these programs allow them to be treated virtually or, in the case of RPM, allow them to actively manage their condition in the comfort of their homes.”
“Laura will oversee these new initiatives and others but
also, more importantly, she’ll help us stay focused on our
vision for the future in keeping MaineGeneral on the leading
edge of technology.
Rick Boudreau
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State-of-the-Art Cancer Care
MaineGeneral Medical Center is the first hospital in the state to use two new types of technology to help cancer patients. These new options are just two more ways we are bringing the latest technology here to the Kennebec Valley. We are committed to providing the best care possible so cancer patients can receive life-saving treatment close to home.
New Breast-Conserving Cancer Surgery TechnologyMaineGeneral is the first medical center in the state to use the FDA-cleared SAVI SCOUT® radar localization system, offering more precise, wireless surgery for breast cancer patients.
MaineGeneral began offering the SCOUT® system in November 2019. The system uses non-radioactive radar technology to precisely locate a tumor during surgery.
A reflector the size of a grain of rice is placed in the target tissue before the day of surgery, at a time that is convenient for the patient. The surgeon is guided to the tumor by the reflector to within one millimeter of accuracy.
Before this option was available, the traditional way for surgeons to identify breast cancer tumors relied on wire localization. In that process, a wire is inserted into a patient’s breast at the point of the lesion so the surgeon can locate the tumor in breast-conserving surgery. The procedure was commonly uncomfortable and inconvenient for patients, and wires could become displaced, leading to removal of excess tissue or the need for additional surgical procedures.
The SCOUT® system provides many benefits to patients, says Ian Reight, MD, of MaineGeneral Surgery.
“Being able to precisely locate tumors increases our ability to completely remove the cancer and reduces the likelihood of follow-up surgeries,” Dr. Reight says. “This new technique also allows for better breast conservation, which is a huge advantage for early-stage breast cancer patients.”
To learn more about MaineGeneral’s breast cancer and breast care programs, visit www.mainegeneral.org/cancer.
New Technology for Prostate Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiation TherapyOne in nine men will be impacted by prostate cancer in their lifetime. For many of those diagnosed with prostate cancer, radiation therapy will be part of their treatment plan.
MaineGeneral is now the first medical center in the state to offer a pre-treatment option to reduce or eliminate one of the side effects of radiation treatment. Called SpaceOAR™, the treatment creates space between the tissues of the prostate being irradiated and the rectum, limiting the exposure and potential damage to healthy rectal tissue.
“We’re excited to be able to have this option that reduces negative effects of radiation treatment for prostate cancer patients,” says Barbara Wiggin, manager of oncology services at MaineGeneral’s Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care in Augusta.
SpaceOAR™ is a gel that is placed at any time before radiation therapy between the prostate and rectum. The gel provides a cushion between the tissues, creating a layer between the two so the rectum is moved away from where the radiation is targeted.
“Placement of the gel is a quick, non-invasive procedure,” Wiggin says. “It offers protection to the rectum during radiation and, in about six months, is naturally absorbed into the body. The peace of mind about reducing complications is valuable for patients. MaineGeneral is always looking to bring state-of-the-art, minimally invasive techniques to our patients to give them the best care and experience.”
To learn more about this and other services offered to cancer patients at the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care, visit www.mainegeneral.org/cancer.
State-of-the-Art
Cancer Care
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Right Where She BelongsWhen GYN/Breast Nurse Navigator Heather Stevens, OCN, BSN, went to nursing school, she knew she wanted to work in oncology. Not because she had lost a loved one to cancer but because she knew she could make a difference. Right before she was due to start working at MaineGeneral 16 years ago as an inpatient oncology nurse, she went to what she thought was a follow-up visit with her doctor and was told she had cervical cancer.
“All I heard was that word, cancer,” Heather says. “I felt numb. My mind immediately went to the worst outcome. I thought about not being here for my young daughters, who were 4 and 7. And I thought about what cancer patients go through, because I was one of them.”
Heather was lucky – her cancer was caught early and removed. But her experience has made her more empathetic toward her patients. “It opened my eyes to what women go through, how fast things can change, and how important it is for newly diagnosed women to have support,” she says.
Fast forward to 2019 when the GYN/Breast Nurse Navigator position was created. Heather jumped at the opportunity. “These women need me,” she says.
The position is the latest disease-specific point-of-entry (POE) navigator position to be created at MaineGeneral’s Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care (HACCC) in the last four years, joining navigators devoted to helping patients with lung, gastrointestinal, genitourinary and head and neck cancer, with more navigators to come.
“My vision for the POE navigator role is that every patient will have a point of contact when first diagnosed to help alleviate the fear and anxiety that come with a cancer diagnosis,” explains Deb Bowden, administrative director of Oncology Services. “These navigators are there simply to be present in a patient’s life, to listen, to guide, and to remove barriers that might prevent them from being ‘well’ again. They know what patients are about to go through and can help smooth the way.”
The POE nurse navigators also partner with the medical staff. “Part of my role is to understand the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) evidence-based guidelines for caring for patients with gynecological and breast cancer as well as the many helping resources associated with these cancers,” Heather says. “Our goal is to reduce redundancy of care and make sure the right tests are ordered at the right time. I coordinate appointments, gather all the information the provider needs and help get each patient to their first consultation in a timely and appropriate manner, which is so important to patients and families.”
Heather has held the hand of many patients who come alone
to their first appointment and is honored to do so. “Many patients are so stunned by the diagnosis, they aren’t sure what they need or what to ask for,” she says.
After the first visit, patients start working with the clinical
navigator paired with their oncology provider to make
sure services are coordinated during treatment. None of these
transitions are easy, says Heather.
“There’s something very special about oncology patients, and I feel it when I’m around them,” she says. “Some of these patients really tug at my heartstrings. I understand the scared 29-year-old with two young kids because that was me. I’m glad I can be here to ease the cancer journey for these special women. I’m here for a reason, to make a difference. This is my calling, and I love what I do.”
“I help them along their journey, am a support person for them and a point of contact so they
don’t feel so lost.
Heather Stevens
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A Day of HopeSaturday, Oct. 3, 2020Two of MaineGeneral’s popular signature events are Cancer Survivors Day and the Walk for Hope. Both honor current and former cancer patients, and both draw more than 1,000 people each year to celebrate community and to celebrate hope.
The similarities don’t end there. After years of being a breast cancer walk, the Walk for Hope has developed into an event recognizing all cancers and cancer patients, just as Cancer Survivors Day does. Both events are inspiring for all involved.
Starting this fall, MaineGeneral is combining these two previously separate events into one: A Day of Hope.
Deb Bowden, administrative director of Oncology Services says, “We honor what makes both events special for those who have attended year after year, and offer a day of celebration, inspiration and dedication to all those who have been touched by cancer.”
A Day of Hope will take place at the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020.
The day will begin with the Walk for Hope and will transition into the ceremony and celebration that honors cancer patients and their caregivers. Activities for the family, food and cancer education are part of the celebration at the cancer center.
“Combining these events and the special people who make them so successful will enhance our goals of recognizing patients and families who have been impacted by cancer. It will also help our entire community meet the needs of patients for years to come by continuing to raise funds to support the work of the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care,” says Nicole McSweeney, chief philanthropy and marketing officer. “We look forward to seeing our community on October 3.”
Watch for more details on www.mainegeneral.org, in the Fall HeathMatters magazine, on Facebook and in local media!
“A Day of Hope brings together our community for the purpose of recognizing
our cherished patients – current and former – and those who support them.
Sarah Kalagher, director of Philanthropy
Cancer Survivors Day
Walk for Hope+=
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Recent Thayer Center for Health UpdatesInvestments in comfort and state-of-the-art technology continue to be made at the Thayer Center for Health in Waterville. The state’s largest comprehensive outpatient center offers 24/7 emergency services, day surgery and key outpatient care.
In December, the main welcome center was renovated. Staff and volunteers there help patients and families navigate the building to find the services they need. Valet parking is available at the main entrance.
Also in December, new state-of-the-art digital MRI equipment was added at Thayer. The wide-bore machine has faster scan times and is ideal for those who have claustrophobia. In addition to these comfort measures, MRI access has expanded hours to include evenings and weekends.
Additionally, robotic surgery is available at Thayer. The robot helps MaineGeneral surgeons perform complex procedures on an outpatient basis. Surgeries with the robot at Thayer are minimally invasive and let patients go home the same day as their surgery.
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New Bed Capacity at the Alfond Center for HealthWe know when you need high-quality, compassionate care, you want to get that care as close to home as possible. We’re with you!
Since opening the Alfond Center for Health (ACH) in 2013, finding available beds has been an ongoing issue.
The current average medical/surgical inpatient occupancy rate is 97 percent.
“This impacts the Emergency Department (ED), surgical services and patients who want to remain in our community for their inpatient care,” says Chuck Hays, president & CEO of MaineGeneral Health. “We’ve worked hard to address this issue within our existing building footprint in a way that is sustainable for the future.”
To be able to serve our community members better, MaineGeneral has begun a process to expand inpatient beds for medical/surgical patients.
Some inpatient rehabilitation beds at the ACH (on the Terrace Level) will become inpatient med/surg beds. Skilled Nursing beds will be used at Gray Birch to be able to serve rehabilitation patients there.
These changes will positively impact MaineGeneral’s ability to serve our community by:
• Decreasing the number of patients in our region who get transferred to other facilities due to a lack of beds;
• Reducing the waiting time for ED patients who need to be admitted; and
• Enabling surgical services to continue to grow.
The change at the ACH this spring gives us 10 additional med/surg inpatient beds. By fall 2020, we will add an additional four med./surg. inpatient beds, bringing the total new med./surg. inpatient beds to 14. We will also have 12 rehabilitation beds at the ACH.
“We are looking forward to serving more patients right here in the Kennebec Valley with
these changes.
Chuck Hays, MaineGeneral Health president & CEO
A private patient room at the Alfond Center for Health
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Dr. Barbara Crowley’s passion to make a positive difference in the world may have been kindled as a college student in the 1960s. The spark came many years earlier, however.
As a young child, she learned from her parents’ years of volunteering how individuals can make an impact in their community. Those early life lessons led her to pursue a long career in health care, with the last 35 years spent in Augusta as a pediatrician, administrator and senior leader at MaineGeneral Health (MGH).
Dr. Crowley, who turned 70 in April, marked the end of her MaineGeneral career that same month with her retirement, leaving a legacy that one may try to imitate but can never duplicate.
For her, helping others always came easily.
“I came from parents who definitely understood that you’re here to be part of a community and to help in it,” she says. That’s the way we were raised and it has always been a part of who I am.”
“When I was in college, a big thrust was to make a difference and be part of the solution rather than the problem,” she adds. “So I aspired to be a small-town family doc who made a difference in one small community. Augusta has been that small town for me.”
Before making a difference in the Augusta community, which she adopted as her own when she joined the medical staff at Kennebec
Pediatrics in 1986, Dr. Crowley made one elsewhere – providing medical care on a Navajo reservation out west and later to adolescents in Massachusetts’ juvenile delinquent program. She also spent three months treating patients in Iran in 1972. Her arrival in Maine allowed her family to put down roots that have grown deep and lasting.
“When you stay in an area for a long time, you can create connections that make a difference. I believe that access to health care is a right that all should have. I did what I could in my career to make sure we included as many people as possible.”
Chapters in a long careerMany Kennebec Valley residents know Dr. Crowley for the expert care she provided to their children and families during her 20 years as an Augusta pediatrician. They remember her calm, reassuring presence in treating infants with croup, preschoolers with high fevers or teenagers with the unique health care needs that come with adolescence.
Those who work in the medical field know her as a consummate professional and health care leader from the roles she played in the decades that followed – first as medical director for MaineGeneral’s physician practices, then as an executive vice president for MGH focused on population health, strategic planning and accountable care.
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A Legacy of Caring
Barbara Crowley, shown with three former pediatric patients, in a January 2010 ad supporting a new regional hospital in Augusta
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Whatever the source, those who have interacted with Barbara Crowley over the past 35 years have appreciated her knowledge, compassion, calm demeanor and ability to see and appreciate varying perspectives while working toward reaching a common understanding.
“Barbara has an amazing ability to see other people’s points of view. Her work with our Clinical Council was a perfect example of this – working through a process and trying to get both sides to see what the best direction was for the community and its future,” says Chuck Hays, MaineGeneral’s president and CEO.
“She’s also an incredible strategist, looking to the future and seeing how we needed to change to
provide better services to the community. She pushed us to be different but also understood how to get things done and also be financially sustainable. She helped build an organization that values community health – not just taking care of people when they’re sick but promoting their overall health and wellness.”
Crowley notes that MaineGeneral’s culture and commitment to community health have contributed to her longevity.
“It’s a remarkable, responsible system that really cares about community and family. This is a place that, when push comes to shove, has always said ‘what’s the best thing to do for the patient?’” she says. “It’s probably why I stayed as long as I have and got to work with the senior leadership team and other leaders throughout the organization. It has been exciting.”
Leaving a legacy When people are asked to reflect on how they want to be remembered after a long and varied career, the answer can be difficult to articulate.
In Barbara Crowley’s case, though, her quick response centers on what led her to the profession in the first place.
“I’d like to be remembered as a pediatrician who made a difference in people’s lives, but also as a leader who made a difference,” she says.
“As a pediatrician, my greatest satisfaction was working with families and watching them develop and overcome major challenges,” Crowley says. “It has been very rewarding to live in this community for so long and have people share with me, even years later, how I helped their child or their family.”
Hays notes that the legacy Crowley has created will be felt for years to come.
“Barbara has been a great mentor and has helped lead us through both difficult situations and exciting growth within the organization. She’s one in a million, I think the world of her, and I know many other people do, too.”
Dr. Crowley’s post-retirement plans include plenty of time with her two children and four grandchildren
“She’s so well thought of and is universally respected. It’s a
testament to who she is and her ability to bring folks together.
Chuck Hays, MaineGeneral Health president & CEO
“I’ll always be most proud of my work as a parent, but then as a pediatrician and then as a leader who helped to support this organization to make the
changes it’s made.
Barbara Crowley, MD
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