Maine Medical Center

• Lisa Hyde-Barrett

Background

For more than 145 years, Maine Medical Center (MMC) has been a cancer health resource for residents of Greater Portland, the state of Maine, and Northern New England. MMC also serves New Hampshire and parts of Vermont, providing complete patient care.

Built in 1864, MMC is the state’s biggest hospital with 637 beds and employing more than 6,000 health care professionals. Annually, MMC has an estimated 27,000 inpatients, more than 500,000 outpatients and performs over 16,000 surgeries.

In addition to providing complete health care for the community, MMC is also a referral center and in partnership with Tufts University School of Medicine to provide Maine’s only allopathic medical school. MMC’s focus on training extends to surrounding universities as well. It has affiliations with the University of Southern Maine, Saint Joseph’s College and Dartmouth College.

Remodeled in 2009, MMC expanded and improved its facilities to include an enhanced emergency department, birthing center, neonatal intensive care unit and parking garage.

The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital (BBCH) is integrated within Maine Medical Center, and it offers a wide range of pediatric services. Named after the former first lady in 1998, the BBCH is approximately 26,000 square feet with 48 beds and a continuing care nursery. Each year more than 10,000 children are treated on an emergency basis at BBCH.

Cancer Treatments

The Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute offers patients the latest treatments in cancer care. As a nationally recognized medical program, the Cancer Institute provides advanced therapies and clinical trials in order to give patients a full range of options. Patients can also count on getting the best expertise in the region because the Institute has the most cancer specialists in Maine. This includes both board-certified and fellowship-trained oncologists and surgeons. Moreover, the Institute’s patient outcomes is higher than national measurements, especially for lung, prostate, colorectal and breast cancers.

Specialists at the Institute work together as a team to fulfill a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancerous diseases. Besides having dedicated medical experts to diagnose and treat various forms of cancer, patients are also assigned Clinical Patient Navigators. These health care professionals are oncology-certified nurses who make sure patients and family members have all of the information they need to understand their options and make educated decisions about the next steps in their care. The navigators also coordinate details such as support groups and supply resources, including nutritional counseling and home health care.

Source: https://mainehealth.org/maine-medical-center