Bridgton Hospital presented its inaugural Larry Hopperstead Award for Excellence in Patient Care to Peter Leighton, M.D.
Nominated as “a model of a caring physician,” Leighton provides exemplary care to his patients at Bridgton Internal Medicine. Through his practice of evidence-based medicine, Leighton combines his clinical expertise with research-based evidence and his patients’ values and preferences to provide a comprehensive treatment plan for each patient. As a strong patient advocate and compassionate provider, he is able to have difficult conversations with patients, their families, and other providers, if necessary to provide high-quality, compassionate care.
Leighton also looks to the Lakes Region’s health needs to see how he can best assist his community. As a result, when the opioid epidemic made its way into the region he obtained a Suboxone waiver to provide necessary and life-altering treatment for those addicted to opioids in the region. Leighton is now known as one of the top resources in the state when it comes to Suboxone treatment in a primary care setting.
The Larry Hopperstead Award for Excellence in Patient Care is named in honor of long-time Central Maine Healthcare (CMH) surgeon Dr. Larry Hopperstead, FACS. In his tenure at CMMC, he was instrumental in creating and building the hospital’s trauma program as Trauma Director, as well as, bringing Lifeflight of Maine to the Lewiston campus. In 2011, Hopperstead joined the Rumford Hospital Surgical Associates’ staff and brought his knowledge, surgical prowess, and patient-centered care to the River Valley until his retirement earlier this year. Throughout his career, Hopperstead never forgot that treating patients and team members with respect and compassion is the foundation of high-quality healthcare.
In honor of all that Larry Hopperstead brought to CMH, providers must:
- Model altruism, competence, trustworthiness, and humility
- Receive exemplary patient and family feedback
- Demonstrate success in improving the patient experience and reducing patient and caregiver suffering
- Leighton personifies CMH’s dedication to elevating the communities it serves.
