Coastal Healthcare Connect
Vol. 03 No. 2 | April 2021
Ann Bresnahan, Champion of PBMC and WCGH, Receives Award
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or Ann Bresnahan, supporting her community is a family tradition. Her father and mother, Arthur K. Watson and Ann H. Symington, generously contributed to the original construction of Pen Bay Medical Center (PBMC) in the 1970s. In fact, Ann’s own commitment to PBMC began early. Almost 50 years ago, she volunteered as a candy striper. Today, she serves as co-chair of the Campaign for Coastal Health, a $21 million campaign that funded construction of the new Health
Center at PBMC and will help support expansion of the hospital’s Emergency Department. Now the New England Association of Healthcare Philanthropy (NEAHP) has recognized Ann’s commitment to community and to PBMC and Waldo County General Hospital (WCGH) by honoring her with its Distinguished Service to Philanthropy Award. “Ann has been a good friend for a long time, and her unselfish giving has inspired me to try to follow in her footsteps,” said David Flanagan,
president of Viking Lumber and a board member of Coastal Healthcare Alliance. “In reality, she has taught our entire community how to give back.” Olympia Snowe, who served as the U.S. Senator from 1995 to 2013, praised Bresnahan’s passionate voice and generosity. “It has long been known that communities thrive when their citizens care about the world around them,” Snowe said. “No one demonstrates this more profoundly than Ann Bresnahan.” See Bresnahan, page 3
MaineHealth COVID Clinics Off To Good Start in Knox, Waldo Counties Hope and a community spirit dominated when MaineHealth opened COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Belfast and Rockport in late January. Operated jointly by Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County General Hospital, the clinics have delivered more than 10,000 vaccines to residents, teachers, health care workers and first responders Above, Michael Shunney, 70, was among the first vaccinated at the Rockport clinic. “I normally avoid getting vaccinated but felt a sense of obligation with COVID-19,” Shunney said. “It is a duty to the community. If it was just for me, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the shot. But this is much bigger than me.” Vaccination is by appointment only. To sign-up, go to www.mainehealth.org/vaccine or call 1-877-780-7545. Once you have completed registration you will receive a call in the order that your call was received, when there is vaccine available. MaineHealth asks that people not call their local health care providers, as they are not able to make appointments.
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Provider Profile
Kimberly Spectre, FNP
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WCGH Walk-In Care
You worked in emergency departments for most of your career. Is it hard to move on?
imberly Spectre, FNP, has come home. Again. After a stint working at rural health care provider in Vermont, Spectre returned to Belfast to join the team of providers, nurses and support staff that opened Waldo Country General Hospital Walk-In Care. Their goal is to expand affordable, same-day access to a health care provider for those whose urgent needs do not require a visit to the emergency room. Walk-In Care is located in the Biscone Building at 119 Northport Ave, Belfast. For more information, go to wcgh.org/walkin or call 505-4567. To learn more about the many places Spectre has lived and why she keeps returning to Belfast, read on.
I am through and through an emergency nurse. I breathed it for the last 15 or more years. But I also love primary care. Coming back to WCGH to help launch Walk-In Care appealed to me because urgent care is a good mix of both. Similar to working in the Emergency Department you never know what’s going to come through the door, and there is the ability to make a difference in the lives of people struggling with health issues. When a patient comes in to see you for the first time, what can they expect? Patients can expect to be screened for symptoms of COVID-19 and required to wear a mask. Those are just two of many measure we’ve put in place to make sure that we provide a safe place for patients to come for their health care. When I enter the exam room, I’ll be wearing a mask and goggles for both their safety and mine. Then they can expect a compassionate and non-judgmental experience. We will discuss why they came in, and I’ll do a great deal of listening to better understand how I can help.
* * * What inspired you to pursue a career in health care? I was in the nursing program at the University of Maine, but I transferred to wildlife biology because I just wasn’t sure at the time that nursing was for me. After college, I did field work as a wildlife biologist for 10 years, and then my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Seeing how all of the nurses and doctors cared for my husband got me thinking about health care again and I realized it was something I really wanted to do. I had just had my second child, and medical school didn’t seem possible at the time. So in 2001 I started nursing school. Later, a colleague at WCGH encouraged me to earn my advanced nursing degree, which I did in 2014.
Outside of the office, what are your passions? I’m driven by travel. I don’t do it as much as I would like. And of course, right now during the pandemic I’m not doing any, but travel is what drives me. I just love the idea, even if I can’t actually do it. Just reading about places I might go to excites me. New Zealand and Australia have always been an interest of mine. Otherwise, my perfect weekend is just being home, enjoying family, going for a hike or a run or just sitting with my husband by the fireplace.
You’ve been providing primary care to patients for six years…
Why have you decided to stay in Maine to pursue this career and raise your family?
Actually, it wasn’t until three years ago, when I was managing the PBMC and WCGH EDs, that the emergency department medical director asked me, “Would you be interested in filling in as an ED nurse practitioner?” I really loved it, but it was difficult to be both a department manager and a nurse practitioner. I will always remember a conversation with Dr. Clark (Kent Clark, MD, chief medical officer of WCGH) about trying to balance the two roles. He said, “You can do both, but you can’t do them both really well. At some point, you’ll have to decide to be a clinician or a manager.” That’s when I decided to focus on being a nurse practitioner.
I grew up in Massachusetts until my parents decided to move to Maine when I was 13 years old. After we got married, my husband and I thought a lot about what it would be like to live somewhere else because we were both from the midcoast area. We moved to Washington State where I worked for Skagit Valley Community College teaching an entry-level wildlife biology class. When we moved back to Maine, we ended up in Belfast which, honestly, is where we were meant to be. It’s just funny that it took us moving 3,000 miles away to learn that. 2
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Family Planning to Relocate, PBMC Explores Rockland Walk-In Care
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ockland Family Planning, which provides access to affordable reproductive health care, is relocating to Thomaston in April and changing its name to reflect the move. The health care provider will call itself Maine Family Planning beginning April 5 when it opens the doors to a freshly renovated, modern facility conveniently located at 41 Buttermilk Drive in Thomaston. It currently sees patients in offices in the Bok Building at 22 White St. in Rockland. “The new space is conveniently located just 2.5 miles from our current offices and boasts ample parking while still offering privacy and confidentiality,” said George Hill, president and chief executive officer of Maine Family Planning. “We’re especially happy that all of our staff will make the move with us. Patients will find the same friendly and familiar faces when they visit us
at this new location.” Maine Family Planning’s hours will remain unchanged in the new location and it will continue to see patients on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To make an appointment, use the scheduling feature at www.mainefamilyplanning.org or call 922-3222. Please note: Due to precautions around COVID-19, Family Planning is not seeing walkins at this time. Maine Family Planning’s move will allow Pen Bay Medical Center (PBMC), the owner of the Bok Building, to make significant and necessary upgrades to the interior of the structure, which stands just behind the Rockland Public Library. The renovation work comes out of a 2019 master facilities review in which PBMC assessed each of its properties to determine if they are being used in the best interest of patients. As a result of that work,
Bresnahan Honored Continued from Page 1
In addition to championing PBMC and WCGH, Ann has supported many other community organizations over the years. These include the Camden Public Library, Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, LifeFlight of Maine, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Coastal Children’s Museum, the Olympia Snowe Leadership Institute, the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship, Penobscot Bay YMCA, Maine Public Broadcasting and Maine Medical Center. Ann is a founding member, donor and volunteer for Partners for Enrichment, an organization
that brings drama and arts to local schools. “Despite her incredible generosity and leadership, Ann is not a person who seeks recognition for herself,” said Ellie Willmann, vice president of development for PBMC and WCGH. “There isn’t a person more deserving of this award.” The Distinguished Service to Philanthropy Award is NEAHP’s highest honor and recognizes a philanthropist or philanthropic organziation that makes significant contributions to a New England health care organization. 3
the hospital is considering the Bok Building as a location for a walkin care clinic it hopes to open this summer. “However, we realized that in order to bring any plans for the Bok Building to fruition, the building would require significant upgrades,” said Denise Needham, PharmD, interim chief operating officer for PBMC and Waldo County General Hospital. The development of the walk-in clinic is still in the planning stage. For now, Needham said, the focus is on helping Rockland Family Planning celebrate its new home – and new name – in Thomaston. “PBMC and Maine Family Planning have worked together to bring high quality clinical care to the community since the 1980s,” she said. “We are pleased that they have found a location that will allow them to best meet the needs of their patients today and for years to come.”
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PBMC Welcomes Brien Davis, FNP, Owner of Hope Health Family Practice ecosystem in our community for many years. We are thrilled that Brien will continue to serve the community as a member of the clinical team at PBMC.” Dr. Eggena said former Hope Health patients who choose to receive care at PBMC or at Waldo County General Hospital (WCGH) will continue to enjoy personalized health care. He said they will benefit from greater access to diagnostic and specialty services at both hospitals and through MaineHealth. “We are doing everything possible to ensure that we can accept everyone who wants to receive health care at PBMC or WCGH, and we continue to aggressively recruit new providers,” said Dr. Eggena. “We are fortunate that we have grown the number of primary care providers at
both hospitals in recent years.” Medical records for Davis’ patients will transfer automatically to PBMC. Patients with appointments scheduled from March 1 on can see Davis in the new Health Center at 15 Anchor Drive, Suite 201 on the Rockport campus of PBMC. Davis’ new office, Pen Bay Family Medicine, can be reached at 301-5900. Hope Health patients who saw Michelle Kinney, FNP, and Kristie Profenno, NP-C, and wish to receive care at PBMC or WCGH should go to pbmc.org/newpatients or wcgh.org/ newpatients and identify a primary care provider who is accepting new patients. Then call to make a new patient appointment and start the process of transferring medical records.
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Coastal Healthcare Alliance 118 Northport Ave | P.O. Box 287 | Belfast, Maine 04915
en Bay Medical Center (PBMC) is excited to welcome Brien Davis, FNP, a primary care provider who owned Hope Health Family Practice in Camden for many years. Davis joined Pen Bay Family Medicine on March 1. Davis, who also owns Hope Orchards in the Town of Hope, said that joining PBMC will allow him to continue working with patients he has come to know so well over the years. “It is important to me to maintain continuity of care for my patients while providing them with the benefits of being associated with PBMC and the larger MaineHealth system.” Said Mark Eggena, MD, PhD, chief medical officer at PBMC: “Brien and Hope Health have been an integral and well respected part of the health care
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