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Goonan joins Central Maine Healthcare as Chief Patient Experience Officer

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Mendy Goonan, MBA, CPXP, is joining Central Maine Healthcare

In this leadership role, Goonan will be responsible for the design and implementation of a comprehensive strategy to drive and foster the consistent delivery of positive patient and family experiences .

“We’re delighted that Mendy is joining our team. She has a track record of connecting caregivers, patients, technology and process to build trusting and empathic interactions,” said Central Maine Medical Center President Steven G. Littleson, DBA, FACHE. “This patient-first approach is key to engaging patients and their families and is central to our commitment to providing exceptional, compassionate care.”

Goonan was previously the director of patient experience at Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Ky., where she implemented organization-wide patient experience programs and partnered with human resources colleagues on care of the caregiver to better enable them to care for patients. Norton Healthcare was awarded the 2017 Press Ganey Healthcare Patient Experience Success Story for Goonan’s work on partnering with the medical group on an external transparency rollout of performance that resulted in improved patient experience measures.

Goonan earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Indiana State University and her MBA in healthcare management from Western Governors University.

“I’m excited about joining the CMH team as its chief patient experience officer with the opportunity to collaborate with team members across the organization to develop and implement innovative and creative programs that will provide an exceptional experience for both patients and caregivers,” Goonan said.

She began her new role Nov. 30.

 

 

 

 

 

Rumford Community Home takes additional COVID-19 precautions

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Three team members at Rumford Community Home have tested positive for COVID-19, Central Maine Healthcare officials said Friday.

“Our top priority is the safety of the residents, team members and the community,” said Peter J. Wright, FACHE, president of the Central Maine Healthcare Long-Term Care Division. “We are taking every precaution possible, including testing beyond what is required and increasing the monitoring of residents to catch symptoms as soon as possible. We are committed to protecting the people we serve and the team members who work hard to deliver our mission every day.”

The three team members who tested positive are quarantining as are two others who were exposed to them outside of the workplace.

All residents were tested for COVID-19 on Thursday night. Monitoring of residents’ vital signs, such as temperature and oxygen levels, have been increased from once a day to three times a day in order to catch symptoms as soon as possible.

The positive test results were from tests performed Monday, Nov. 23. Testing of team members is performed weekly at Rumford Community Home – twice as often than is required by state and federal regulators.

After the positive results came in, most team members on site Thursday night were tested. All other team members, including those who were not scheduled to work, will be tested Friday.

All team members will be retested Tuesday for the regularly weekly universal testing of team members.

Rumford Community Home has informed all residents, their families and all team members about the positive test results and will continue to keep them up to date on developments.

Precautions in place at Rumford Community Home include masking and the use of other personal protective equipment as needed, increased disinfecting of the facility, hand hygiene, social distancing and screening of team members and residents. Visitors have not been allowed since last week due to COVID-19 rates in the community.

CMH enhances COVID precautions to address Russell Park outbreak

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Central Maine Healthcare has put in place additional coronavirus infection prevention protocols in light of the outbreak at Russell Park Rehabilitation and Living Center.

“Our top priority is the safety of our patients, staff and the communities we serve,” said CMH Chief Medical Officer John L. Alexander, MD, MHCM, FACEP. “Community spread is driving the increase in COVID-19 cases in Maine and we have adopted additional safeguards to counter that threat.”

Central Maine Medical Center has put in place additional precautions that include:

  • strict use of patient masking in rooms when a caregiver is present;
  • placing all patients admitted from long-term care facilities experiencing COVID-19 infection on droplet and contact precautions, regardless of their initial testing result; and
  • reinforcing strict environmental cleaning and sanitizing of patient care areas.

Those are in addition to the multiple layers of protection already in place at CMH facilities such as screening of all patients, visitors and staff for symptoms; documentation of every person entering in case contact tracing is needed; controlled entry points to prevent unscreened individuals from coming inside; masking and social distancing required at all times inside; and appropriate personal protective equipment required for all patient-facing staff, with monitoring for proper use.

CMH is tracking possible exposures of CMMC team members who have had close contact with Russell Park employees who tested positive for the virus. CMH is quarantining those CMMC team members for 14 days after their exposure and testing CMMC team members who exhibit symptoms.

The CMMC director of infection prevention has been working  closely with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

WHA Rotating Art Gallery at CMMC

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The Woman’s Hospital Association (WHA) Rotating Art Gallery at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston is proud to display the paintings of Maine artists Anita F Poulin and Wendy Pelletier for the month of November.

Poulin has been painting since childhood, coming from three generations of artists known for the

Anita Poulin Loon Photo

Maine scenes they have painted for over a century. Her artwork is influenced by the Pine Tree State and its four seasons. “If an artist is patient, Maine offers painting opportunities beyond expectations.”

The owner of GreenWood Gallery and the former AP Graphics, she is a registered State of Maine fine art artist who has lived in Maine all of her life. A portrait artist as well as a still life and nature painter, she gives private and group instruction at her home and has taught for a number of years at Senior College.

Pelletier is a featured artist for a second time at CMMC. Her work has also been shown at the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell. A past exhibiter at the Portland and Gardiner Art Walks, her art has been in local art galleries in Hallowell and Gardiner and was accepted this year at the Boothbay Harbor Artisans CO-OP. An artist for over 30 years, her current medium of choice is acrylic and resin, working completely free form without the use of paint brushes. Her work also includes functional art including serving trays, cutting boards, glassware and furniture.

The works on display may be purchased through the WHA Gift Shop located adjacent to the main lobby at Central Maine Medical Center. A percentage of sale proceeds benefits patients of CMMC.

Central Maine Healthcare Cancer Care Center groundbreaking heralds expanded and enhanced services for region

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Central Maine Healthcare on Thursday broke ground for its new Cancer Care Center that consolidates cutting-edge oncology services in a convenient location for the region.

“It’s a momentous day for Central Maine Healthcare and the communities we serve. Patients will have increased access to high-quality care supported by the latest technology – all close to where they live, work, play and pray,” said Jeffrey L. Brickman, FACHE, president and CEO of Central Maine Healthcare. “It’s part of our vision to change the face of healthcare in Maine.”

Healthcare professionals, elected officials and community leaders joined Central Maine Healthcare to celebrate the occasion. The masked, socially distanced groundbreaking ceremony took place at the Central Maine Healthcare Cancer Care Center GroundbreakingCentral  Maine Medical Center campus in Lewiston, where the Cancer Care Center will be built.

Construction on the $33.2 million project is scheduled to begin next week and is expected to be completed in February 2022. One of the goals of the ambitious project is consolidating oncology services in an accessible, centralized location so patients do not have to make their way to different parts of the Lewiston hospital campus for their care.

The need for expanded and enhanced cancer care is great, said Central Maine Medical Center President Steven G. Littleson, DBA, FACHE. He noted that the incidence of cancer in Maine has increased, and Androscoggin County has one of the highest occurrences of cancer in the state.

“Cancer is the leading cause of death in Maine and our state has the 12th-highest rate of cancer mortality,” Littleson said. “Our objective with this awesome new facility is to put a serious dent in those numbers.”

The new two-story, 52,000-square-foot Cancer Care Center will house the Central Maine Cancer Institute, which provides multispecialty, team-based care. The facility will also house new equipment, including new linear accelerators critical for radiation therapy.

Hector Tarraza, MD, CMH’s system chief of oncology and associate chief of surgical care, spoke of the staff who will care for the patients at the Cancer Care Center.

“Doctors, nurses, staff members, social workers, pharmacists – a team truly dedicated to caring for these individuals. One of the nicest things that I know about the staff is that every single one of them will treat them with their heart,” he said. “They’re going to provide understanding and kindness and caring and empathy throughout their entire journey as they are treated.”

WHA Rotating Art Gallery Displays Paintings of Susan and Paul Boucher

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The Woman’s Hospital Association (WHA) Rotating Art Gallery at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston is now displaying the paintings of Lewiston residents, Susan and Paul Boucher. Their avid love of the Maine outdoors inspires their work and lives.

Art is an integral part of Paul’s essence and has been for almost forty years. His style combines a sense of realism with his own unique form of imagination.  He has studied under various artists but is essentially self-taught. He enjoys studying wildlife in its natural habitat and spends hours of research and study on each of his paintings.

Susan Boucher has been interested in art for most of her life. Primarily painting with watercolors, most of her paintings are done in the studio utilizing her own photographic images. “I have an endless fascination with my subjects: the undulating shapes of flowers, children and woodland scenes”.

The works on display may be purchased through the WHA Gift Shop located adjacent to the main lobby at Central Maine Medical Center. A percentage of sale proceeds benefits patients of CMMC.