Contact: Clay Holtzman
clay.holtzman@mainehealth.org
PORTLAND, Maine – On June 1, Maine Medical Center and Southern Maine Health Care successfully completed combination of their hospital licenses and medical staffs, establishing a multi-campus medical center collectively identified as MaineHealth Maine Medical Center (MHMMC). Bringing the two hospitals together will help to enhance the quality of their care by better using their collective resources, sharing clinical expertise and providing a more consistent patient experience. The combination also paves the way for an increase in the number of residency and fellowships offered by MHMMC to medical school graduates for physician training.
As a result of the license integration and ongoing updates to the names of services and locations at MaineHealth facilities in Cumberland and York counties that took effect on June 1, the Southern Maine Health Care brand will be retired and MHMMC’s three primary locations will be known as:
- MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland
- MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Biddeford
- MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Sanford
“Bringing Maine Medical Center and Southern Maine Health Care together allows our care team to serve patients more effectively and efficiently. Right now, timely access to inpatient health services is a challenge and we have taken this important action to help address that,” said Britt Crewse, President of MaineHealth’s Southern Region that includes MaineHealth Maine Medical Center. “Not only will this allow us to better care for patients, but it also supports another dimension of our not-for-profit mission: educating tomorrow’s caregivers.”
MHMMC has plans to add a total of 62 new residency and fellowship slots. The programs and the number of new slots they would offer include: Internal Medicine (9), General Surgery (9), Diagnostic Radiology (5), Ob Gyn (4), Family Medicine (3), Neurology (4), Hospice and Palliative Care (2), Critical Care (2), Gastroenterology (5), Cardiology (6), Vascular Surgery (2), Neurosurgery (7) and Endocrinology (4). The additional positions will start to be filled in July 2024 and will continue through 2027. The Gastrointestinal, Vascular Surgery, Neurosurgery and Endocrinology residency/fellowship programs will all be new while the other slots represent expansion of existing training programs.
“Like many states, Maine has a significant need for additional providers in a variety of medical disciplines, and that need is particularly acute in rural areas,” said Dr. Doug Sawyer, Chief Academic Officer at MaineHealth. “National data and our own experience as an academic medical center with more than 300 current residents and fellows show that physicians often go on to practice in the communities where they complete their training. We are incredibly fortunate to expand this talent pipeline.”
MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland and MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Biddeford and Sanford have a long history of collaboration. The two hospitals often transfer patients from one care setting to another. Many doctors and advanced practice professionals (collectively known as providers) are credentialed to practice medicine at each hospital. And the two will often share resources and clinical expertise. By working together under one hospital license and as one medical staff, there will be fewer barriers to daily activities like patient transfers and admissions, implementation of quality improvement and cost savings initiatives and use of common standards and policies. The two hospitals and their care teams will continue to look for ways to increase efficiencies through collaboration and integration of operations.
“Our care teams in Portland and Biddeford/Sanford each provide fantastic care for their patients. But each team has a great deal to learn from one another. It’s a new era for each of these great hospitals, and for all of our patients in the region,” said Dr. Joel Botler, Chief Medical Officer for the Southern Region of MaineHealth.
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About MaineHealth Maine Medical Center
MaineHealth Maine Medical Center is a multi-campus medical center with locations in Portland, Biddeford and Sanford. The medical center is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system whose vision is “Working together so our communities are the healthiest in America.” With a total of 929 licensed beds, MaineHealth Maine Medical Center employs about 9,000 care team members. It is also an academic medical center offering training and education to residents and fellows, medical students, nursing students, surgical technicians and other professions. Its Portland campus provides tertiary-level care and is verified as a Level I Trauma Center. It also houses the MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, an acute care facility with 109 licensed beds and a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In Biddeford and Sanford, the medical center operates as a community hospital offering a variety of inpatient-based services. MaineHealth Maine Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission, and its Portland campus has received Magnet Recognition for Nursing Excellence four consecutive times and is consistently recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the Best Hospital in Maine.