Innovation | MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital

MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital (MHPBH) unveiled its physical Innovation Space in late September 2024. Located on the hospital’s main hallway, the Innovation Space serves as a collaboration hub where we transform frontline care team member ideas into impactful improvements for patients and hospital staff.

Bringing innovative concepts to life

Envisioned by MHPBH physicians Barry Howe, MD and Nir Harish, MD, the space houses a conference room, work areas, high-top seating, a small kitchen and casual furniture. Care team members staff the space on a part-time basis to help collect and cultivate the ideas that walk through the door.

Innovation wins

The Innovation Space team has successfully implemented a variety of initiatives generated by care team members from across the organization. Projects include:

• A mobile patient library, created to provide patients with reading material while in the hospital
• A partnership between the MHPBH education department and St. George Workforce Development to provide a hands-on education event to introduce middle school students to a variety of health care careers
• Building a supply of warm, dry clothes to provide patients who arrive at the hospital wet from snow, water or ice
• Implementing a process to provide pre-paid cell phones to patients without a phone number to facilitate communication with their medical team
• The development of an online “Swap Shop,” allowing departments to trade excess supplies to prevent waste and reduce cost
• In partnership with Northeastern University students, we developed a set of portable physical therapy steps that can easily be moved around the hospital to provide physical therapy wherever it’s needed
• Adding measuring tapes to triage doors inside the emergency department to easily capture patient heights
• Making sure hearing aids and reading glasses are available for patients within the hospital
• Partnering with the Knox Clinic Dental Program to make it easier for patients to access dental care
• Hosting a community brainstorming event to develop ideas around improving youth mental health

More to come

We are always looking for opportunities to innovate and improve, and have several exciting projects in the works including:

• The development of remote audiology services to address long wait times for hearing tests
• Piloting cutting-edge retinal cameras in the hospital to enable off-site ophthalmologists to evaluate patients with eye emergencies
• Partnering with community organizations to explore improved transportation options for patients
• Developing a process to encourage safe firearm storage and provide free gun locks for families of children and adolescents with depression
• Improving utilization of professional counseling and guidance for care team members after traumatic workplace events