Maine Health Cancer Care Network (MHCCN) – Network Profile
Division of Medical Oncology at Maine Medical Center
Maine Medical Center Breast Care Center (BCC) and MaineHealth Regional Cancer Practices at:
Coastal Healthcare Alliance - Pen Bay Medical Center (Rockport) & Waldo County General Hospital (Belfast) Lincoln Hospital (Damariscotta), Memorial Hospital (North Conway, NH), Mid Coast Hospital (Brunswick), St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center (Lewiston), Southern Maine Health Care (Sanford), and Stephens Memorial Hospital (Norway, ME)
[Seeking Medical Oncology expertise especially in Breast Cancer, Gastrointestinal and/or Genitourinary Oncology, General Medical Oncology and Benign Hematology including full-time, part-time and J-1 waiver opportunities.]
MaineHealth (MH) is an integrated delivery system, leading the way in promoting public health and wellness in Maine. It has earned a national reputation for innovations in health promotion and improving the health of the communities it serves. Headquartered in Portland, MH has members and affiliates throughout Central, Western, and Southern Maine and Eastern New Hampshire newly organized into three MH regions (Figure 1).
Ranked among the nation’s top 100 integrated healthcare delivery networks, MH member organizations include: Maine Medical Center (Portland), Franklin Community Health Network (Farmington), Lincoln County Health Care (Damariscotta), Memorial Hospital (North Conway, NH), Mid Coast Hospital (Brunswick), Pen Bay Medical Center (Rockport), Southern Maine Health Care (Biddeford and Sanford), Waldo County General Hospital (Belfast), Western Maine Health (Norway), and additionally MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization (MHACO), Maine Behavioral Healthcare (Portland), MaineHealth Care at Home, NorDx (system-wide clinical laboratories) and Maine Medical Partners with the nascent evolution of a system-wide multispecialty group – MaineHeatlh Medical Group that launched in October 2021, and a Credentialing Verification Office (CVO). Affiliates of MaineHealth include MaineGeneral Health (Augusta), New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland, and St. Mary's Regional Medical Center (Lewiston).
VISION:
Working together so our communities are the healthiest in America.
MISSION:
MaineHealth and its members, reflecting the needs of our communities, acting within available resources and consistent with agreed upon strategic priorities, will:
• Maintain an integrated not-for-profit, community-owned, comprehensive delivery system providing the continuum of care from prevention and health maintenance through tertiary services, rehabilitation, chronic care and long-term care.
• Have as its primary goal, the continual improvement of the general health of the communities served.
• Provide high quality, safe and accessible health services delivered with care and compassion in a cost effective manner.
• Consist of regionally organized providers operating in concert.
• Provide care regardless of ability to pay.
• Maintain financial viability.
• Accept and manage financial risk.
• Lead health professions' education and research efforts.
• Take a leadership role in healthcare public policy.
The origins of the MH system date back to 1990. The state of Maine then boasted 40 not-forprofit hospitals, and Maine Medical Center (MMC) led a collaborative effort that resulted in the formation of MH. Today, Maine Medical Center (MMC) remains the complete healthcare resource for the people of Greater Portland, the state of Maine, and northern New England. Incorporated in 1864, MMC is the state’s largest medical center, licensed for 637 beds (will expand to 725 beds) and employing more than 6,000 people. The Medical Center is in the midst of a $512 million (M) dollar capital expansion (see Figure 2 below) with an initial parking facility construction completed in early 2019. In December 2019, the East Tower was completed and the Oncology Service Line became occupants of the 7th floor (Medical Oncology – 20 beds, and Hematological Malignancies – 12 beds) of the new Coulombe Family Tower expansion. A new patient tower essentially devoted to cardiovascular services, operating theaters, and intensive care is slated to be completed in 2024, which will provide enormous enhancements to patient care. MMC’s unique role as both a community hospital and academic referral center requires an unparalleled depth and breadth of services, including the state’s only allopathic medical school
through an expansive partnership with Tufts University School of Medicine (aka MaineTrack Program).
Maine Medical Center and Institutes
Maine Medical Center (Figure 3) as the MH flagship academic and tertiary medical center, brings together extraordinary clinical programs and resources constituting the full spectrum of solid tumor and malignant hematological diseases and disorders. Given the high regional and national profile of our Cardiovascular Institute, nationally recognized stroke program, high-risk obstetrics and neonatology, Level I Trauma Center, and the expansive MH Cancer Care Network (MHCCN) among other clinical programs and services there are extraordinary needs for further investment in oncology leadership and expertise.
Maine Medical Center (MMC) is an academic health center that serves as the flagship of the 12-hospital MaineHealth integrated delivery system in southern and central Maine and eastern New Hampshire. In 2021-2022, U.S. News & World Report named Maine Medical Center a "Best Regional Hospital" for the ninth consecutive year.
For the 2021-22 ratings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide. The state rankings recognize hospitals that received high performing ratings across multiple areas of care. According to U.S. News, a hospital is rated “high performing” in a specialty category if it’s scored in the top 10 percent nationwide. U.S. News also rated MMC as “high performing” in these ten common procedures and conditions:
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
• Aortic valve surgery
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Colon cancer surgery
• Heart bypass surgery
• Heart failure
• Hip replacement
• Knee replacement
• Lung cancer surgery
• Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
Less than one-third of all hospitals received any high-performing rating, and MMC is one of just 37 to earn this rating in all 10 procedures and conditions.
All 5 eligible MaineHealth hospitals – Franklin Memorial Hospital, Maine Medical Center, Mid Coast Hospital, Pen Bay Medical Center and Southern Maine Health Care – have received a fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety grade of ‘A,’ the highest hospital safety grade that Leapfrog offers. Leapfrog assigns an ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ grade to 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals across the country every six months. Grades are based on 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data. The peer-reviewed methodology evaluates a hospital’s performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care. Nationwide, 34 percent of hospitals received an ‘A’ grade this fall. The news that every eligible MaineHealth hospital received an ‘A’ from Leapfrog comes just one week after Leapfrog named MH’s LincolnHealth, Pen Bay Medical Center, Waldo County General Hospital, and Stephens Memorial Hospital among its 19 Top Rural Hospitals for 2020.
The Department of Medical Education at MMC manages 14 residencies and 10 fellowships, all approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), with programs offering post-graduate training to more than 250 residents and fellows. MMC and the Office of Academic Affairs, Department of Medical Education have been approved by the ABIM to sponsor a 3-year combined Hematology/Oncology Fellowship training program commencing this July 2023. We are collaborating with the Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston) and their NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center for hematopoietic stem cell transplant and cellbased therapies in this undertaking; and prospects to enjoin the NCI-designated cancer research center at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine in genomic medicine. This fellowship program will position the institution to address the significant work force shortage the State of Maine is facing in this discipline of care.
The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital (BBCH) at Maine Medical Center is a state-of-the-art 48bed “hospital within a hospital”. BBCH provides for the continuum of pediatrics healthcare needs from the Level III, 51-bassinet NICU to pediatric inpatient and intensive care, pediatric cardiology, oncology, general and cardiovascular surgery and other specialties, to disease management and child and adolescent psychiatry to pediatric emergency services. The Maine Children's Cancer
Program (MCCP), the pediatric cancer program of the BBCH, provides the state’s most comprehensive diagnostic and treatment resources for children diagnosed with cancer and blood disorders. We have the availability of leading-edge diagnostic resources including state-of-theart imaging technology and a depth and breadth of pediatric cancer expertise not found anywhere else in the state of Maine or northern New England. Because of MCCP’s membership in the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), we have access to the same innovative therapies available at the world’s leading children’s cancer hospitals.
The Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute (MMCCI) is fully accredited as a Comprehensive Academic Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons (ACoS), Commission on Cancer (CoC), and is the leading provider of oncology services for adults in Maine. In 2021, the center registered more than 3,800 analytic cases (see Table 1 and companion MHCCN Tumor Registry document) and substantiates the expansive growth in our cancer programs not only for MaineHealth but for the entire state of Maine. MMCCI is also fully accredited by the CoC’s National Accreditation Program for Breast Cancer (NAPBC), in April 2022 became one of only two accredited NAP for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC) programs in New England (among 45 nationally), and radiation oncology program accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR). In 2019, the MHCCN was awarded a 6-year $5.1M dollar grant (1UG1 CA239771) to join the NCI Community Oncology Program (NCORP) and further substantiates the growth of the MHCCN. MaineHealth was one of two new organizations welcomed to the NCORP network (Figure 3). This grant spans the spectrum of the cancer care continuum from prevention, screening, therapeutic, quality-of-life, to end-of-life, and cancer care delivery research (CCDR) under the Wake Forest University Research Base. We retain main institutional status in the NRG [National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project – Radiation Therapy Oncology Group – Gynecologic Oncology Group (NSABP-RTOG-GOG)], Alliance, and Children’s Oncology Group (COG). This transformative NCI award is foundational for our network research efforts that also includes recent competitive supplements ($412,500 TC) to join the high priority NCI Cancer MoonshotSM Biobank Study (NCI Protocol #: 10323; NCT04314401), 3 community engagement projects, and an investigator-initiated SARS-CoV-2 antibody period seroprevalence study throughout the MHCCN cancer care workforce.
In December 2015, Dr. Scot Remick was recruited as the inaugural physician leader and Chief of the Oncology Service Line at MMC and MaineHealth. He has served in academic and leadership posts throughout his career at Albany Medical College, Case Western Reserve University, and West Virginia University. His career has focused on early phase anticancer drug development, cancer clinical trials, AIDS-related malignancies and cardiovascular complications of anticancer therapy.
The Cancer Institute supports three multidisciplinary clinics: the Breast Care Center under the leadership of Drs. Paige Teller, Director (breast surgical oncologist; recruited in spring 2016); Neuro-Oncology led by Dr. Christine Lu-Emerson and only such program in the state; and Thoracic Oncology led by Dr. Gary Hochheiser recruited in November 2016 as Director of Thoracic Surgery
from Baystate Medical Center. A fourth multi-disciplinary head and neck cancer clinic launched under the direction of Dr. Christina Mimikos in 2019. There is a robust gynecology oncology program under the direction of Dr. Emmanuel Soultanakis for the entire state; growing surgical oncology program led by Dr. Timothy Fitzgerald recruited in January 2017 from Eastern Carolina University as our Director, Division of Surgery; a Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic led by Dr. Susan Miesfeldt (CRPC – cancer genetics); and a highly interactive advanced radiation oncology program led by Dr. Ian Bristol staffing 4 practice locations in Portland, Scarborough, Bath and York County to the south. In December 2018, the Medical Center embarked on expansive recruitment to launch its own employed medical oncology and hematology group. This has culminated in the recruitment of a dozen faculty physicians over the past couple years in the Divisions of Medical Oncology and Hematology (Dr. Amit Sanyal, Director) and creation of a nascent Hematological Malignancies Program led by Dr. Kellie Sprague. This is an exciting time to lead and participate in the expansive growth of cancer programs throughout the MaineHealth Cancer Care Network.
In June 2017, MaineHealth announced that the Harold Alfond Foundation awarded a $10 M dollar, 5-year grant providing further investment in our oncology programs and firmly established the MaineHealth Cancer Care Network (MHCCN). This award followed closely on the strategic planning initiative led by MaineHealth and MMC in partnership with Oncology Solutions, Inc. (Decatur, GA) that was undertaken in 2013-2014 to develop a highly integrated cancer care delivery network within the 11-county catchment area in Maine and New Hampshire serving a population base in excess of 1.1 million. A recent 2021 strategic planning initiative was completed also with Chartis-Oncology Solutions with recommendations for significant capital investment in the Southern and Coastal regions in the health system. Plans are underway to procure property and design a free-standing comprehensive clinical cancer destination center in southern Maine. The network is comprised of 9 MH-member institutions and 2 affiliate members including the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Center (HACCC) at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston and more than 300 providers providing direct care for patients and families stricken by cancer Taken together the MHCCN provides direct cancer care to more than 7,000 cases (>66% of the cancer burden in the state) among the 10,000+ cancer cases diagnosed annually in the State of Maine.
The MH is in the midst of expansive electronic interconnectivity which was completed with the Go Live in January 2021 of our Shared Electronic Health Record (SeHR), Epic™ (Madison, WI) at Mid Coast Hospital uniting all MH member organizations on a single fully-integrated EMR platform. In spring 2019, ClinicalPath® (formerly Via® Pathways, Elsevier) was on-boarded and the MHCCN is a member of this pathways network of organizations. Clinical pathways have been implemented by disease site in an incremental manner. Other electronic platforms include robust Survivorship Care Plans (SCPs) that are fully integrated into Epic; and bringing on-line the Radiant platform for lung cancer screening. The MHCCN clinical trials program is also rapidly scaling up with our recent NCORP award and ever expanding clinical trials portfolio. Clinical trials are administered centrally through the Clinical Trials Office (CTO) based at MaineHealth Institute for Research (MHIR) in Scarborough. Clinical trials are currently available at: MaineGeneral Medical Center and Franklin Community Hospital, Maine Medical Center, Southern Maine Health Care, Waldo and Pen Bay; Mid Coast, with Stephens Memorial Hospital, St. Mary’s and Lincoln Hospital to be activated shortly.
In a remarkably short period of time MH Oncology has clearly established a trajectory that has enormous potential to raise the bar on patient-centered cancer care in Maine. The ultimate goal is to ensure that "the right care, in the right location will be provided, but that patients will be kept as close to home as possible.” The service line organizational structure that is now evolving in the MHCCN to support hematology and cancer care across the continuum, from early detection/prevention, to diagnosis and treatment, as well as survivorship and end-of-life care, is attended by expansive physician recruitment including reinvigorating Divisions of Medical Oncology and Hematology in the Department of Medicine at MMC. With continued growth throughout the MHCCN a singular medical oncology group practice is envisioned.
Breast Care Center (BCC) The MMC Breast Care Center (BCC) provides comprehensive breast health care in a welcoming and patient-family centered environment. Dr. Paige Teller, a fellowship trained breast surgeon has led the center since 2016 and we are in the midst of a national recruitment for a breast medical oncologist to serve as her co-director. Services include early detection, diagnostic imaging services, specialist consultation for benign breast conditions, and treatment of breast cancer. Approximately 600 patients are treated annually at the BCC. Whenever possible, care is coordinated to provide consultations during a single multidisciplinary visit. This is particularly convenient for patients living beyond the Portland area. Our team of specialists includes surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists. Non-physician members of the team include a breast certified nurse practitioner, nurses who have received specialized training in breast health and breast cancer, an oncology dietitian, an oncology social worker, certified genetic counselors, and the American Cancer Society patient navigator. The breast care team meets weekly to develop optimal treatment plans for our patients. Recommendations are reviewed with the patient and family to keep them well informed and understanding what to expect every step of the way. Our program has also earned full accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), which assures that patients have access to a range of comprehensive services.
Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic (CRPC) MMCCI supports a dedicated Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic. The clinic is an outpatient service that gives primary and specialty care physicians and patients access to state-of-the-art cancer risk assessment and prevention services, particularly for hereditary risk assessment and counseling. The clinic provides hereditary risk assessment and counseling for all types of adult-onset cancers including: colon, breast, ovarian, pancreas, kidney, prostate and skin as well as less common tumors and pediatric cancers. The program also supports two telemedicine clinics as well as point of care services at Southern Maine Health Care to expand services in the more rural areas within the MHCCN. Patients and families are referred to the clinic from throughout Maine and parts of New Hampshire. CRPC staff is actively involved in both investigator-initiated health services research efforts as well as research partnerships with the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative (MCGI) led by the Jackson Laboratory, MMC Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation staff as well as investigators at the University of New England, Tufts and Dartmouth. CRPC clinicians are also engaged in primary and continuing medical education initiatives at an institutional, regional and national level. The program staffed by three physicians and currently supports 7 Masters prepared cancer genetic counselors. The clinic provides consultative services to more than 2,000 patients annually.
MMC Supportive Services for Cancer Care The Department of Pharmacy currently provides leadership and support for comprehensive cancer pharmacy services including a highly
interactive interdisciplinary team devoted to chemotherapy/anticancer drug prescription, ordering and policies with the evolving MHCCN Clinical Oncology Practice (COP) Committee that succeeded the MH Beacon-Informatics Subcommittee (Beacon chemotherapy WG). The committee works as part of a system-wide effort to harmonize chemotherapy order sets and carepaths (e.g., febrile neutropenia) in Epic™. The Department of Pathology under the leadership of Dr. Rob Christman is leading a Precision Medicine Initiative, which is bringing to operational status in-house multiplex gene testing [Next Gen Sequencing (NGS)] for predictive and prognostic molecular panels. MMC has also recently secured a partnership with Tempus Labs, Inc. (Chicago, IL) for genomic panel testing and other applications. The Department also supports an indispensable Laboratory Medicine Section led by Dr. Tarek Hammour. Dr. Hammour also oversees and coordinates Transfusion Medicine services for the institution.
Cardiovascular Institute at MMC brings together, clinicians, surgeons, and investigators from basic, translational and population health research backgrounds to solve problems impacting cardiovascular health, especially focused on Maine. The Institute provides access to state-of-theart healthcare across the spectrum of cardiovascular disease and lifespan. The Cardiovascular Service Line provides expansive and highly coordinated care throughout MaineHealth with a professional staff of approximately 80 cardiologists and surgeons. The Institute has robust clinical and basic research programs focusing on heart failure and is a national leader in cardiac surgery outcomes. A core interest is preventing and managing adverse effects of cancer therapy on cardiovascular health. There is a well-established Cardio-Oncology Program at MMC that is fully integrated in the Oncology Service Line. Through innovative basic and translational research, as well as development of collaborative models of care, promises to improve outcomes in this area may be of especial interest to potential recruits.
Neuroscience Institute at MMC provides care for brain, spinal cord and nervous system disorders, and diseases. Assembled as a center of excellence bringing together clinicians, researchers and healthcare providers, the Institute provides programs and services in stroke and cerebrovascular, neurology, neurosurgery and spine, trauma and critical care, acute and ongoing rehabilitation, pediatrics, neuro-endovascular, mental health, and neuro-oncology. The MMC Neuro-critical care and Stroke Program are leading a $2.5M study through the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) exploring the role of early tracheostomy in severely ill stroke patients requiring mechanical ventilation.
Maine Health Institute for Research (MHIR) The MHIR is a freestanding research institute located on our Scarborough campus. The Institute boasts 63+ PIs and faculty scientists on staff with total FY2022 research funding of $20.6M (84% federal). The Institute houses four research centers – Center for Applied Science & Technology (CAST), Center for Clinical & Translational Science (CCTS), Center for Interdisciplinary Population & Health Research (CIPHR), and Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM); a Lyme-Vector Borne Disease program; the Northern New England Clinical Translational Research (NNE-CTR) Network (PI: Rosen, 2U54 GM115516); and two Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (CoBRE) – Mesenchymal and Neural Regulation of Metabolic Networks, (PI: L. Liaw, 3P20 GM121301) and Acute Care Research and Rural Disparities (PI: D. Sawyer, 1P20 GM139745). All clinical trials activities are coordinated through the MHIR Clinical Trials Office (CTO). The MMC BioBank is also housed in MHIR. In August 2022, the institute successfully renewed its $20.3 M 5-year NIH award sustaining the Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research Network, led by Dr. Clifford Rosen that brings
researchers together from MMC, the University of Vermont, University of Southern Maine, and the Dartmouth Collaborative. The Institute provides comprehensive Clinical Trials Office (CTO) services for nearly 300 sponsored clinical trials across all disciplines; houses a state-of-the-art tissue biorepository and numerous state-of-the-art core facilities; and offers pre- and post-award research grant(s) services among other research and scientific support activities. Faculty at MHIR have academic appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine and the University of Maine.
Maine Health Medical Group (MHMG) launched in October 2021 bringing all employed physicians throughout the health system under the umbrella of a single multispecialty group practice. MHMG is the state’s largest multispecialty medical group. The medical group provides a wide range of primary, specialty and subspecialty care delivered through a network of more than 30 locations throughout greater Portland and southeastern Maine, 42 primary care offices throughout the 3 MH regions, and 9 member local health systems among numerous office locations throughout the health system In May 2022, Dr. Amit Sanyal joined the Medical Group as the first Senior Medical Director-Medical Oncology and Director, Division of Medical Oncology at Maine Medical Center. He joined the organization from Madison, WI where he served as Regional Director for Medical Oncology in the Sister of St. Mary’s Health System, a large 4-state health system. Dr. Sanyal is the consummate clinician leader and champion of capitalizing on electronic platforms so vital for contemporary and quality-driven cancer care. This background builds on more than our 2-year effort to secure ASCO-QOPI accreditation across the entire MHCCN, the first-ever undertaking of its kind. Working together, MHMG ensures our patients receive safe, effective, high-quality services. MHMG is proud to play a role in improving the health of our communities and the patients who rely on us from across our region.
Tufts University School of Medicine and Maine Track Program Expansion
It is the expectation that all medical oncology and hematology physician recruits will seek and secure faculty appointments at the appropriate rank and track in the Department of Medicine in the School of Medicine. This is an exciting time to join MMC and especially the Maine Track Program. Dr. Douglas Sawyer is Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer at MMC and also serves at the Academic Dean, MMC-Tufts University School of Medicine (aka Maine Track Program). Dr. Sawyer succeeded Dr. Peter Bates in February 2019 following his retirement. Dr. Bates was instrumental in the 2008 creation of the Maine Track medical education program, developed to address Maine's physician shortage, help Maine students overcome barriers to their medical ambitions, and develop an innovative curriculum focused on rural, community-based education. The program has already been enormously successful in helping improve the physician manpower shortage in the state of Maine since its inception. Two medical oncologists practicing in the MHCCN are Tufts-Maine Track graduates.
The Tufts University Educational Strategic Planning II (ESP-II) Committee embarked on a major curriculum expansion to commence with the incoming Class of 2019. This led to a full 3year curriculum that will be entirely based in Maine that commenced in the summer of 2020. With this new 3-year curriculum, Maine faculty are responsible for the emerging and highly integrated, longitudinal instruction over the entire second year of medical school, which encompasses the hematology and oncology core curriculum. The first Hematology/Oncology core course, presently under the direction of Dr. Jason Moran, was taught over 5 weeks in October-November 2020. The Maine Track program has finalized a second 10-year re-affiliation and currently matriculates 39 medical students per year with plans to grow to 50.
– Position Descriptions –
The MaineHealth Cancer Care Network is in the midst of expansive recruitment and seeking several solid tumor oncologists and hematologists. Medical Oncology expertise and/or focus in Breast Cancer, Gastrointestinal and/or Genitourinary Oncology, General Medical Oncology, and Benign Hematology are especially attractive. Additionally, interest in undergraduate medical education in the Tufts Maine Track Program, supporting our nascent Hematology/Oncology Fellowship program, and participation in our clinical research program across the arc of the cancer care continuum are highly desirable. There is also flexibility in type of hire, including fulltime and part-time positions in addition to opportunities for candidates requiring J-1 waiver status. All candidates are expected to procure a faculty appointment at the Tufts University School of Medicine in the MMC Department of Medicine with rank and academic track commensurate with experience and credentials at time of hire. Types of position and other arrangements can be reviewed at time of presentation of candidate credentials to our Physician Recruitment Office.
Practice Opportunities in the MaineHealth Cancer Care Network (MHCCN)
This is a wonderful time to lead and participate in dynamic clinical and community settings with the singular goal of improving patient-centered care. Developing a highly integrated, qualitydriven contemporary cancer program; leading an innovative oncology curriculum in Maine as part of our expanding affiliation with Tufts University School of Medicine, growth of the MaineTrack program and hematology/oncology fellowship; and serving an invaluable resource
to our community of physician providers at MMC and throughout MaineHealth and the growing MHCCN are prioritized. These positions are be based in Belfast, Brunswick, Lewiston, Rockport, southern Maine and North Conway, New Hampshire. There is also the opportunity to pursue research through our NCORP trials portfolio and the Maine Health Institute of Research, which would provide enormous value-add.
There are several opportunities to attract top-tier, clinical medical oncologists to complement the emerging program in Portland as we continue to build a highly integrated cancer care delivery care model for the MaineHealth system. The essential expectations of sub-specialty oncology expertise, general medical oncologists, and hematologists we wish to attract and recruit to our network partners are commitment to clinical excellence; patient-centered care; and value-based, quality-driven contemporary cancer care. Professional activities and expectations include leadership and participation in our clinical pathways program; active participation in our MHCCN clinical trials network and NCORP activities; Precision Medicine initiatives, NCI Moonshot Biobank study and the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative (MCGI); active participation in at least one local and/or multidisciplinary, sub-specialty tumor board conference(s), and one MHCCN Work Group (from among 6 currently active in Breast Cancer, Colorectal, Genitourinary Malignancies, Gynecologic Malignancies, Thoracic Malignancies, and Patient Navigation). The preferred candidates would be Board Eligible or Board Certified and Fellowship trained in Medical Oncology and/or Hematology (disease focus in breast cancer for the BCC is required and GI/GU oncology adds value) and will work collaboratively with the Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute and other MHCCN hospitals and physician partners to ensure patients have access to the latest developments in their care, including a wide range of clinical trials. Synopses of MHCCN practices are described below.
Coastal Healthcare Alliance - Waldo County General Hospital (Belfast) and Pen Bay Medical Center (Rockport)
Waldo County General Hospital based in Belfast, and Pen Bay Medical Center located directly on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in Rockport comprises the Coastal Healthcare Alliance within the MH system.
Waldo County General Hospital (WCGH) has been named a Becker’s Hospital Review Critical Access Hospital to Know that operates as a family of services with Waldo County Medical Partners and Penobscot Shores Retirement Community (Figure 5). Through these organizations, there is a commitment to providing excellent care for patients and their families in a friendly, caring atmosphere. Services are provided as efficiently as possible with an eye on the future and in collaboration with other community-minded agencies. The oncology program provides complete cancer care including access to clinical trials and infusion services.
Pen Bay Medical Center (PBMC) is a non-profit 99-bed, full-service community hospital (Figure 6). Pen Bay offers inpatient and outpatient care to the communities of midcoast Maine with a full Hospitalist Service, diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative services, patient and community education, and a full-range of specialty services through the Emergency Department, Special Care Unit, Surgical Services Department, and the Psychiatric Addiction and Recovery Center. The center operates as a family of services that also includes Pen Bay Physicians and Associates, Quarry Hill Retirement Community, the Knox Center and the Sussman House. Through these organizations, and with a staff of more than 100 outstanding physicians and more than 1,500 healthcare professionals, the center is able to provide the people of mid-coast Maine with a continuum of both routine and specialty patient-centered medical services. The oncology program actively participates in cancer clinical trials; and boasts a highly interactive and interdisciplinary palliative cancer care program throughout the MHCCN.
The medical center is located directly on beautiful Penobscot Bay along mid-coast Maine and offers some of the most spectacular natural beauty and outdoor recreation found anywhere. There are great opportunities to enjoy sailing and kayaking the world-class waters of Penobscot Bay, hike the mountains that overlook the sea, swim and fish in pristine lakes and streams, and bike on country lanes. Enjoy an abundance of rich cultural opportunities and great schools in a safe community environment.
Lincoln Hospital (Damariscotta)
The Lincoln Hospital (LH) Miles campus (Figure 7) in Damariscotta is a 25-bed community facility. Onsite is a multi-specialty physician practice and a wide range of services including emergency and intensive care, ambulatory surgery, obstetrics, wound care, radiology and orthopedics. There is a small and growing oncology practice that is staffed two-days a week complemented by a full outpatient infusion suite. LincolnHealth is the largest employer in Lincoln County, with over 1,000 employees.
Memorial Hospital (North Conway, NH)
Located in North Conway, NH, Memorial Hospital (Figure 8) is Mt. Washington Valley’s most complete health care facility. The 25-bed critical access hospital services include a 24-hour emergency department, surgery center, clinical laboratory, imaging services, oncology, and chemotherapy and infusion services. Physician practices include primary care and family medicine, women's health, orthopedics, and sports medicine. The hospital was established in 1911.
Mid Coast Hospital (Brunswick)
Mid Coast Hospital located in Brunswick is the newest member of the MH system; the nascent cancer program is fully integrated within the MHCCN (Figure 9). The hospital is one of Maine's most modern hospitals, having opened in a completely new facility in 2001. They are an independent, community, non-profit hospital accredited by the Joint Commission. Mid Coast Medical Group, a department of the hospital provides high quality primary and specialty care spanning 30 discipline areas including a full Hospitalist Service with more than 100 providers. One of Maine's newest full service hospitals, Mid Coast Hospital is a 93-bed modern facility with more than 200 providers on its active medical staff. Mid Coast is accredited by The Joint Commission, and is recognized as a Magnet™ facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for exceptional nursing and patient care. The hospital promotes a healing environment through the design, as well as its location on 150-acres of coastal Maine. The oncology program maintains a full accreditation by the American College of Surgeons – Commission on Cancer; and will be occupying newly renovated clinic and infusion space at its nearby Parkview Medical Campus in June 2018.
Brunswick, one of Maine's most beautiful and desirable regions, is located 25 miles north of Portland. This coastal community is home to Bowdoin College offering residents and visitors an array of recreational opportunities and a small college town atmosphere with rich and diverse arts and cultural resources, centered around noted Bowdoin College’s museums, theater and concert hall. Brunswick has twice been named one of the 10 best places to retire in America by Money Magazine.
Southern Maine Health Care (Biddeford and Sanford office)
Southern Maine Health Care (SMHC) is a national award-winning healthcare system, with an acute care medical center in Biddeford (Figure 10), licensed for 150 beds, and 24/7 emergency room services in both Biddeford and Sanford. SMHC offers excellent clinical care and a multispecialty physician services group with medical offices providing outpatient care located in Biddeford, Kennebunk, Saco, Sanford and Waterboro. Eldercare services are provided through four sites located in Sanford. Non-emergency care is available at Walk-In Care centers in Kennebunk, Saco, Sanford and Waterboro. SMHC is Joint Commission accredited, state-licensed, and is a member of the MaineHealth system.
The SMHC Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders oncology practice has offices in Biddeford and Sanford; the Sanford location also includes radiation oncology services provided by MMC. SMHC provides essential leadership for
patient care and access to state-of-the-art clinical trials in the southern region of the rapidly expanding MHCCN. Physicians based at SMHC also staff medical oncology practices in outreach clinics at Memorial Hospital in North Conway, NH; and Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, ME. The hospital has American College of Surgeons accredited cancer [Commission on Cancer (CoC)] and breast cancer [National Accreditation Program in Breast Cancer (NAPBC)] programs.
The SMHC main campus is located in Biddeford, next door to the towns of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport. These towns combine a rich history as summer communities with a reputation for significant land preservation, a vibrant year-round population with a strong sense of community, and a focus on education excellence. Biddeford is less than 15 miles from our Maine Medical Center Scarborough campus and Cancer Institute, and approximately 25 miles from the MMC Bramhall campus in Portland. The MHCCN 2021 strategic planning engagement identified re-locating cancer services from Sanford to a free-standing destination outpatient cancer center in southern Maine providing a more accessible and populous region to better meet the needs of our communities. Additionally, SMHC and MMC are in the midst of re-organizing under a single license that will greatly enhance coordination and integration of comprehensive cancer care services in the southern region. This is further facilitated by the new free-standing outpatient facility that will come to fruition in the next couple years.
St.
Mary’s Regional Medical Center (Lewiston)
St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center (SMRMC) is comprised of a 233-bed acute care facility, a primary care provider network, urgent care and emergency department, behavioral and mental health services, and outpatient specialty practices that combine talented and compassionate caregivers with state-of-the-art medical technology to meet the healthcare needs in the Androscoggin County area and beyond (Figure 11). In summer 2020, St. Mary’s completed construction on a new $4.65-million outpatient Cancer and Blood Disorders Center that has new space for ample multidisciplinary care and outpatient infusion services. While an affiliate of MaineHealth, in January 2021 St. Mary’s and MaineHealth embarked on a joint venture for cardiology, surgery and oncology services providing additional investment and commitment to the cancer care program at St. Mary’s. This substantiates continued exciting growth in the MHCCN.
Stephens Memorial Hospital (Norway, ME)
Established in 1957, Stephens Memorial Hospital (Figure 12) is a 25-bed critical access hospital offering an emergency department, imaging services, and oncology, orthopedic, and obstetric care, among other services. Stephens has been recognized by the Leapfrog Group as one of the Top Rural Hospitals in the nation four times since 2009 for delivering the best quality care while attaining the highest levels of efficiency.
The Portland Community
The Greater Portland area has a population of 230,000 and is home to nearly one quarter of the population of the state of Maine. A historic seacoast city situated on the Atlantic Ocean on Maine’s south coast region, Portland boasts a strong economy, a multitude of museums, theaters, symphony, and other musical performances, cultural attractions, and nationally acclaimed restaurants. Situated on the Maine coast two hours north of Boston, Portland offers the best of urban sophistication combined with small town friendliness. Portland is consistently voted one of the top spots in America to raise a family and was named America’s most livable city by Forbes Magazine in 2009, and one of the Coolest Small Cities in America by GQ Magazine in 2010. The area provides four season recreational opportunities, such as skiing, hiking, sailing, and miles of beautiful beaches. The Falmouth, Maine school system was ranked in 2011 by Forbes as #1 in the nation for Best Schools for Your Real Estate Buck.
Portland’s restaurants are numerous, attracting chefs from as far away as New York, Japan and Milan, helping to define Portland as “a destination for rigorously local and regularly delicious food.” Portland’s restaurants have been praised by Bon Appetit Magazine and The New York Times, and the city is well known for being one of the best places to eat in the Northeast.
With a four-season climate, Portland provides a wealth of outdoor recreation opportunities, all quite close to home and work. Some of New England’s finest ski resorts are within an easy two-hour drive, hundreds of miles of trails are available for hiking, running, or cross country skiing, and water sports abound in Casco Bay. For those that prefer spectator sports, Portland is home to two minor league teams: the AA Portland Sea Dogs, a farm team of the Boston Red Sox, and NBA Development Team the Maine Red Claws, affiliated with the Boston Celtics.
The community is an ideal location for family, with strong schools and a values-based population. The region provides a variety of living options from the more urban environment of Portland to island and rural settings throughout the area. It is viewed as an environmentally conscious place to live having been named the top green city of its size (cities under 150,000) by Organic Gardening Magazine.
The economy of the region has shifted from its reliance on fishing, manufacturing, and agriculture, toward a more service-based economy, including being the home base for most of the financial services and insurance organizations in the State. The city is home to one of the few working waterfronts remaining in the U.S., the second largest oil port on the East Coast, and the largest foreign inbound transit port in terms of tonnage in the country.
The Amtrak “Downeaster” passenger railroad runs between Portland and Boston several times a day. The busiest airport in the state, the Portland International Jetport, is located only a few miles from downtown Portland, which allows for easy and convenient travel to and from Maine. Portland is also a popular stopover for cruise ships and the port itself sees over 200,000 international passengers each year.
The region is home to several colleges and universities, including the Maine College of Art, the University of New England, the University of Maine, and Bowdoin, Bates and Colby Colleges.
Top 6 Reasons to Live and Work in Maine
Quality of Place - We take our quality of life pretty seriously in Maine. Maine is a beautiful state with low population density, incredible natural beauty, and a thriving arts and restaurant scene. Portland is ranked 8th by U.S. News & World Report as the best place to live in the U.S.
Variety Housing Options - If you want to live on the ocean, in a small town, in the woods, or in downtown Portland, there are many priced options. The realty market is rapidly evolving especially in southern Maine.
Proximity to New York and Boston - Boston is just 90 minutes by car from Portland, or you can catch a train in Portland and be at North Station in a few hours. New York City is about six hours by car from Portland, and even less if you take a direct flight from the Portland Jetport.
Low Crime Rate - Maine has one of the lowest levels of crime in the United States, making it a safe place for you and your family.
Friendly and Hardworking People - While we're Yankees (but not necessarily Yankees fans) Maine people are warm and hardworking. You will be impressed by your colleagues' dedication and passion for their work.
Excellent Schools - Maine communities offer a wide array of public, private and magnet schools. March 2023