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Description

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EMHS Mission
The mission of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems is to maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Maine through a wellorganized network of local health care providers who together offer high quality costeffective services to their communities

EMHS Vision
EMHS will be the best rural healthcare system in America by 2012

EMHS Values
To accomplish its Mission and Vision EMHS will embrace these values

Passion
We demonstrate a passion for caring for others and the pursuit of service excellence in all that we do

Innovation
We are capable of extraordinary creativity and are willing to explore new ideas to achieve our healthcare mission

Integrity
We commit to the highest standards of behavior and doing the correct thing for the right reasons

Respect
We respect the dignity worth and rights of others

Accountability
We take a responsible and disciplined approach to achieving our priorities and responding to an ever changing environment

Partnership
Working together in collaboration and teamwork is more powerful than working alone

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History

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Working together the members of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems EMHS are taking care of this region of Maine we call home Together we are working to strengthen our communities and our healthcare system

How far weve come

In 1982 leaders of the Board of Trustees for Eastern Maine Medical Center EMMC realized that the future of healthcare in Maine would not be focused on single hospitals regardless of their size and depth of services As a result Eastern Maine Healthcare EMH was created as a means of developing a network of healthcare services that would offer equal access to high quality care while taking advantage of the many efficiencies that come from working together

When president and CEO Norman Ledwin was recruited to lead EMH in 1993 he was charged with developing a regional economically and clinically integrated system of providers to incorporate healthcare services from the Bangor region into the surrounding nine counties First EMH linked multiple similar providers such as hospitals so that efficiencies could be produced over a region and we could better weather the economic pressures being placed on healthcare providers nationwide Second EMH linked different levels of care such as home health hospitals longterm care facilities and physicians so that a continuum of care could be developed that would provide all of our communities with equal access to high quality healthcare Today this system is known as Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems EMHS Click here to see a list of EMHS members

In April 2006 EMHS welcomed M Michelle Hood as president and CEO Michelle came to EMHS from Billings Montana where she was president and CEO of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System Montana Region as well as president and CEO of St Vincent Healthcare Michelles vision for EMHS is to improve access to quality healthcare for Maine people through innovative leadership and by collaborating with system members as well as other businesses and organizations in Maine and throughout New England

Perhaps the word collaboration best describes Michelles vision for EMHS Since her arrival she has met with and established collaborative memorandums of understanding with MaineHealth MaineGeneral Health St Josephs Healthcare and Penobscot Community Health Care These latest developments complement the longstanding collaboration EMHS has enjoyed with Central Maine Healthcare to plan specific clinical initiatives and establish LifeFlight of Maine which has literally touched every corner of our state By pulling together some of Maine finest healthcare resources Michelle hopes to improve the continuum of care throughout the state so no matter where a person is the same standards of care and protocols are in place We must bring together healthcare leaders social service leaders and other key constituencies to plan for an effective approach to these priorities or we risk wasting resources on a scattered approach Michelle is also committed to developing an integrated system of community benefit accountability which will demonstrate EMHS mission of serving in the best interest of the people of Maine Through Michelles leadership EMHS is well on its way to realizing its recently adopted vision of becoming the best rural healthcare system in America by 2012

In just a little more than a decade EMHS has evolved into a remarkable resource for central eastern and northern Maine Our success is based on a rich heritage of determination collaboration and flexibility in meeting the changing and growing needs of our communities With the diverse cultures of our respective members and their community members EMHS has maintained autonomy at both the institution and medical staff levels

Steps along the way
In the past decade Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems EMHS has made some significant steps to further our mission

In 1992 Acadia Hospital opened its doors becoming
the first and only acute psychiatric specialty
hospital in the northern two thirds of Maine
Acadia is the only psychiatric hospital in the
nation to achieve Magnet Hospital designation
through the American Nurses Credentialing Center

In 1997 and 1998 Inland Hospital in Waterville and
Charles A Dean Memorial Hospital in Greenville
joined EMH as a result of the systems first
strategy to seek efficiencies by linking hospitals
together

In 1997 Bangor Area Visiting Nurses and Hospice of
Eastern Maine merged into EMH as part of the
systems second strategy to strengthen continuum of
care options

In 1998 EMH partnered with Central Maine
Healthcare to establish LifeFlight of Maine the
medical helicopter service literally linking every
hospital in Maine to serve the most critically ill
of the states patients needing this service

In 1999 The Aroostook Medical Center TAMC joined
our mission through the strategic development of
EMHS This was especially significant because of
TAMCs ability to provide primary and specialty
care TAMC is not only an EMHS partner in Aroostook
County but also serves as a hub of more
specialized services in support of the other
providers scattered over the huge geography of
Aroostook County

In 2000 Sebasticook Valley Hospital also joined
EMHS and its team is working diligently to fulfill
their vision of being the best small hospital in
Maine

In 2003 Blue Hill Memorial Hospital joined EMHS as
a member One result of this affiliation is their
contribution to initiatives where their physicians
and nurses work alongside those in EMHS hospitals
to plan improvements in the quality of healthcare
services we deliver through the region

In addition Central Maine Healthcare in Lewiston
worked with EMHS in 1998 to plan specific clinical
initiatives over even a broader region such as the
dramatic example LifeFlight of Maine which has
literally touched every corner of our state

EMHS has also developed other important
relationships that benefit patients in our region
Houlton Regional Hospital and Mayo Regional
Hospital are strategic affiliates meaning that
both hospitals contribute to initiatives in which
their physicians and nurses work alongside those in
EMHS hospitals to plan improvements in the quality
of healthcare in central eastern and northern
Maine In addition EMHS collaborates with Central
Maine Healthcare in Lewiston to plan specific
clinical initiatives over an even broader region
CMHC also operates an LLC with EMHS that is known
to many as LifeFlight of Maine a statewide medical
helicopter service that has literally touched every
corner of our state