LEWISTON, Maine & PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--St. Mary’s Health System and MaineHealth officials are pleased to formally announce the expansion of their longstanding clinical affiliation to provide an enhanced array of high-quality specialty care services in the Lewiston-Auburn community. The announcement follows months of discussion and planning between the two organizations focused on providing greater access to much-needed specialty services in the area.
“We have worked with MaineHealth to assess our community’s current and future needs,” says Steven Jorgensen, president of St. Mary’s Health System. “We believe the expanded specialty services we are now able to offer will help us improve the health of our community by making care more accessible locally. It will also strengthen our recruiting efforts and make our community more attractive to businesses that may be looking to expand or relocate here.”
According to St. Mary’s officials, expanded services, beginning with general surgery, cardiology and cancer care will be provided by MaineHealth specialists on St. Mary’s campus in Lewiston.
“St. Mary’s Health System and MaineHealth share a deep commitment to serving Maine and providing the very best care and experience possible to patients and their families,” says Andrew T. Mueller, MD, chief executive officer of Maine Health. “By bringing new specialists and services from MaineHealth to the Lewiston-Auburn community, we can ease the burden on patients who would otherwise have to travel outside the community for certain specialty care and services.”
Over the past 132 years, St. Mary’s has grown and evolved to meet the Lewiston-Auburn community's unique healthcare needs, expanding from a single hospital to a fully integrated health system with numerous primary care and specialty physician practices. Through the expanded clinical affiliation between St. Mary’s and MaineHealth, residents of Lewiston-Auburn will be able to access the care they need without having to leave the health system or community.
“Our community faces some critical health challenges that we are working to address through our expanded affiliation and long-term investments in community health,” says Jorgensen. “In addition to increased poverty and uninsured rates, we see a higher prevalence of some serious health conditions in Androscoggin County, including cardiac and pulmonary health issues caused by numerous preventable and unpreventable factors. We are excited to work alongside MaineHealth to offer our community and patients access to an expanded array of highly-trained specialists, beginning with general surgery, cardiology and cancer care.”
To learn more about the expanded services that are now available on the Lewiston campus of St. Mary’s Health System or to schedule an appointment, please visit https://www.stmarysmaine.com/.
About Covenant Health
Covenant Health of Tewksbury, Mass., is an innovative, Catholic regional health delivery network and a leader in values-based, not-for-profit health and eldercare. Covenant Health consists of hospitals, skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers, assisted living and independent senior residences, and community-based health and elder care organizations throughout New England and in Pennsylvania.
About MaineHealth
MaineHealth is a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of nine local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,700 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With close to 22,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. It includes Franklin Memorial Hospital/Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington, LincolnHealth in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, Maine Behavioral Healthcare in South Portland, MaineHealth Care at Home in Saco, Maine Medical Center in Portland, Memorial Hospital in North Conway, N.H., Mid Coast-Parkview Health in Brunswick, NorDx in Scarborough, Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County Hospital in Rockport and Belfast, Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford and Sanford, Spring Harbor Hospital in Westbrook and Stephens Memorial Hospital/Western Maine Health Care in Norway. MaineHealth Affiliates include Maine General Health in Augusta and Waterville, New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland and St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. It is also a significant stakeholder in the MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization in Portland.
