Healthcare Foundation Grants $100,000 to MCMH Emergency Center Campaign
John Lynch, Foundation Board Chair
Ellsworth, ME – Maine Coast Healthcare Foundation’s Board of Trustees has approved a grant to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital (MCMH) totaling $100,000 in support of the F. Eugene Dixon, Jr. Emergency Center Capital Campaign. The Campaign began in the summer of 2008 and has received exceptional support from the community – both individuals and businesses. Over the past twelve months, over $2.5 million of support has been provided to bring the total Campaign to within two percent of the $5 million goal. The Campaign was successful in meeting a $500,000 challenge grant between December 15, 2009 and May 31, 2010. The Foundation’s grant to benefit the Campaign was made on June 30 to coincide with the end of the organization’s 2010 fiscal year.
Maine Coast Memorial Hospital Board Chair and Capital Campaign Chair Robert D. Merrill was excited to learn the news of the Foundation’s spending to benefit the Emergency Center project. “This gift from the Foundation is tremendous and the Campaign Committee is diligently working to secure the remaining philanthropic support to meet the $5 million goal,” said Merrill.
The Foundation’s Board Chair John P. Lynch explained that the Foundation Trustees provided careful oversight of philanthropic gifts received by the Foundation over the past five years and was pleased to announce the continued support of the Hospital. Lynch stated, “the spending as recommended by the Foundation’s Investment Committee and approved by the Board recognizes the critical importance of meeting the Campaign goal.
The Trustees fully appreciate that Maine Coast Memorial Hospital could not have accomplished the construction of the new Center without the community’s support and the Foundation is doing its part to help meet the goal”.
Grants made by the Healthcare Foundation support patient care, education, technology and facilities at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital.
Maine Coast Healthcare Foundation was established in 2003 for the purpose of promoting, fostering and financially assisting Maine Coast Memorial Hospital and its affiliated clinics in Ellsworth, Gouldsboro, Somesville and Southwest Harbor. Gifts to the nonprofit Foundation are provided by those who recognize the tremendous need to sustain excellence in healthcare in the region of coastal Maine.
MaineGeneral physician co-authors lead article in genetics series in New England Journal of Medicine
W. Gregory Feero, MD, PhD
FAIRFIELD – A MaineGeneral family medicine physician and genetics specialist has co-authored the lead article in a series on genetics and genomics for the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that he will also co-edit.
W. Gregory Feero, MD, PhD, who practices at Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine in Fairfield and also serves as a special advisor to the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NRGRI) in Bethesda, MD, was the lead author in the series’ introductory article, “Genomic Medicine – An Updated Primer,” which appeared in the NEJM on May 27.
MaineGeneral Vice President of Medical Administration Dr. Steve Diaz said he could not recall a MaineGeneral physician ever being published in the NEJM.
“Every physician in the United States knows that the landmark journal is the New England Journal of Medicine. It is the top journal for peer-reviewed, unbiased and appropriate medical information, so this is a tremendous recognition of Greg’s expertise and work in the field,” he said.
“He’s a genomics expert who is grounded in primary care,” Diaz added, “so not only is he a leader nationally, but his training (in the Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency) was local and his ability to practice medicine is excellent. He’s a good mentor to both residents and other providers.”
Diaz said Feero’s dual roles in genetics and family medicine benefits health care providers and patients locally.
“Every test you have doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting better care; you have to be smart about it,” he said, “and that’s where Greg helps us tremendously – giving us a better understanding of how to use genomics appropriately so it makes sense for our patients.”
Feero – along with preeminent geneticists Alan Guttmacher, MD and Francis Collins, MD, PhD – researched and crafted the initial article over a period of 18 months. The “primer” served as an update to a similar series of NEJM articles spearheaded by Guttmacher in 2002-03.
Feero said he was working at NHGRI in 2007 when the NEJM approached Collins about producing another series “because of the significant changes and scientific discoveries in the field and the explosion of information in genetics and genomics.”
Collins enlisted Guttmacher and Feero for the project. When Collins became director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and had to remove himself from work on the series, his colleagues continued with the project as co-editors.
The genetics/genomics series will consist of 13 articles appearing every six weeks in the weekly journal over a period of 18 months. The articles will be free to download and many will offer interactive graphics. Feero and Guttmacher, in working with the NEJM’s editorial board, chose the authors and the general content areas for each.
“We’ll have an active role in the first drafts, will select peer reviewers for the articles and help with things like figures (to accompany them),” he said. “Then we’ll serve as mediators between the peer review process, the NEJM’s editorial board and the authors.”
Feero described the process of developing the initial article and working on the series as “eye opening.”
“This is my first experience writing for this level of journal and it’s been both very interesting and fairly painstaking work,” he said.
He added that editing the series is also quite interesting.
“I get to work with the world’s experts on these topics and it’s both a pleasure and a privilege to be exposed to these folks, because I’m certainly not in their league,” he said. Feero said the goal of the series is to help NEJM’s readers “better understand some of the really interesting science that’s emerging.”
“As we continue to learn about the genetic underpinnings of different health conditions, we’ll be able to provide better ways to predict diseases, provide prognoses for patients and indicate how they’ll likely fare with their conditions,” he said. “It’ll also give us better therapeutic approaches and preventive strategies.”
As part of his mentoring efforts, Feero recently started a “Scholarship in Medicine” lecture series for health care providers in collaboration with MaineGeneral Medical Center and the residency program.
“This series doesn’t focus on genetics and genomics intentionally, but occasionally will offer speakers on these topics because I know them and they’re doing interesting work,” Feero said. “We’re trying to cover a broad range of topics that deal not only with science but also policy issues that are relevant.”
Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute Breast Care Center First in Maine to Receive National Accreditation
The Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute Breast Care Center has become the first in the state to receive a full, three-year accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), administered by the American College of Surgeons. Accreditation by NAPBC is given only to centers that voluntarily commit to provide the highest level of quality breast care, as well as undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance.
Earning the NAPBC Accreditation means an organization excels in patient care, and is measured on its merits in five areas: quality improvement, professional education, community outreach, center leadership, and clinical management. Centers must be compliant with 27 standards within these five areas. The Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute (MMCCI) Breast Care Center was 100 percent compliant. “We are proud to have been recognized by NAPBC for our commitment to quality cancer care,” says Dr. Tracey Weisberg, medical director of the MMCCI Breast Care Center. “Our staff has worked diligently to provide the most expert and compassionate care to breast cancer patients across Maine. To be nationally accredited and regarded among the best breast cancer centers in the country is an honor, but our patients are the ones who truly benefit.”
Receiving treatment at an accredited center ensures that patients have access to:
- Comprehensive care, including a full range of state-of-the-art services. The MMCCI Breast Care Center offers leading edge diagnostic and screening services, as well as the latest advancements in radiation therapy (radiation oncology), surgery (including plastic and reconstructive surgery) and medical oncology. Patients also have access to genetic testing and counseling, support groups, education, and post-treatment support at the MMCCI Breast Care Center.
- A multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best treatment options. Our team participates in weekly conferences to review data and develop treatment plans that are best for the patient. The breast care team collaborates on individual cases, reviewing radiology imaging, pathology specimens, and surgical assessment.
- Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options. The MMCCI Breast Care Center works collaboratively with the oncology specialists at Maine Center for Cancer Medicine (MCCM), where numerous active clinical trials are underway. All patients with breast cancer are carefully screened and, when appropriate, offered the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial.
- Quality breast care close to home. The Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute Breast Care Center provides screening, early detection, diagnostic imaging services, specialist consultation for benign breast conditions, comprehensive treatment resources and treatment of breast cancer (including support through survivorship), in a warm, welcoming, patient-family centered environment.
Among the many things that make our Center special are Clinical Patient Navigators, who assist patients through their entire diagnosis and treatment process, helping guide them through the many appointments, treatment options and post-treatment care. Our Navigators are Oncology Certified Advanced Practice Nurses with specialized expertise in the care of breast cancer patients. Patients also have access to a team of health care providers, including an Oncology Social Worker , a Clinical Oncology Dietician, Genetics Specialists. The services of a Patient Navigator supported by the MMCCI and the American Cancer Society are also available to help patients connect with important support resources in the community, such as transportation.
The NAPBC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to the improvement of the quality of care and monitoring of outcomes of patients with diseases of the breast. This mission is pursued through standard-setting, scientific validation, and patient and professional education. Its board membership included professionals from 5 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of breast care. In addition to the NAPBC Accreditation, the Commission on Cancer (CoC) has also awarded Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute with another Three Year Accreditation with Commendation, the highest rating awarded to such facilities. MMC is the only teaching hospital in Maine to earn this recognition. Moreover, MMC was one of only two hospitals in all of New England to be awarded the CoC’s Outstanding Achievement Award for exceptional performance in 2007.
The Radiation Oncology Program of MMCCI was recently redesignated as the only facility in the state to receive Accreditation in Radiation Oncology from the American College of Radiology (ACR). Earning the ACR accreditation means an organization has demonstrated a commitment to patient care and quality, and is able to offer advanced technology and techniques for the care and treatment of cancer patients. One example is a new program offering accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) via high-dose rate brachytherapy for breast cancer patients. This outpatient treatment targets the tumor site rather than the whole breast – eradicating any residual tumor cells while leaving more healthy tissue and cells intact. In addition to its effectiveness and reduced toxicity- APBI requires less time than more conventional whole breast treatment.
