Program areas at EMHS
Provide healthcare services regardless of ability to pay as well as education, research and promotion of health. Provided other uncompensated care (at cost) of $16,884,700.Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) has served communities throughout our region for 128 years. Under community direction, it has grown from a five-bed general hospital into a comprehensive, 411 bed tertiary medical center with primary and secondary care components. EMMC is a nonprofit hospital, serving all who need care, regardless of ability to pay.EMMC also provides outreach clinics to many local hospitals in the region, allowing easier access to patients and supporting the role of those hospitals in their communities. EMMC provides access to medical data to hospitals across the State through its PACS system, helping to improve the quality of care patients receive. Additional information can be found at EMMC's website: httpsnorthernlighthealthorgEaster... StatisticsTotal admissions 18,910Cardiac Catheterization Procedures 5,903Cardiac Surgery Cases 404Emergency Room Visits 32,071Medical Imaging Procedures 157,941Surgery Cases 13,257Live Births 1,778Family Practice Visits 114,994Total Outpatient Visits 697,230Patient Days 111,131Services provided to those who could not pay $52,543,762
Please see the following excerpt from the Northern Light Health Annual Report 2020 to the Community for details of community benefit projects at NLH members:HEROES AMONG US Healthcare Heroes As we reflect on 2020, people around the world would do well to remember these words by Nelson Mandela, Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. We faced a global pandemic that took the lives of more than 500,000 of our fellow Americans and more than 2.5 million people worldwide and counting. We also faced deadly wildfires and hurricanes, racial unrest, and a country divided by politics. But during this turbulent time, we also saw the very best in people, including those whom we work alongside every day to deliver compassionate healthcare to the people of Maine. We saw our colleagues rise to the challenges of an unprecedented global pandemic, show courage in the face of adversity, and make selfless sacrifices to heal the sick and protect our communities. These people are heroes. They are the front line workers who provided direct patient care to those who became infected with coronavirus. They are also the people who worked behind the scenes to ensure our staff had the personal protective equipment and telehealth technology they needed to continue to provide care safely. They are the support staff that cleaned and disinfected rooms, prepared meals, and countless other tasks to support our direct care workers. In this years annual report, we celebrate these heroes. They may not have flashy costumes or superpowers like the comic book heroes or those in Hollywood films. But like those heroes, they must don masks as they face a genuine and dangerous enemy. In the pages of this years annual report, you will learn more about who they are and what they do. We will take you behind their masks to discover the true identity of the heroes among us. Timothy J. Dentry, MBA President & CEO Kathy Corey Northern Light Health, Board Chair HEROES ON THE FRONT LINES When it comes to caring for sick patients, Northern Light Healths front line staff put themselves at risk to provide exceptional care. We know they are brave and compassionate people, but COVID-19 has shown how far they are willing to go to help others. The following are a few of the many examples of courage and caring that we witnessed during this global pandemic. Cathy Bean, RNManager of Clinical and Community Health Services Northern Light Home Care & Hospice In late March, Portland saw a spike in the population of homeless people who were getting sick with COVID-19. To help protect the citys homeless residents, city leaders immediately opened the Portland Expo as an alternative shelter site that would allow them to maintain their shelter capacity while adhering to the Centers for Disease Controls (CDC) social distancing guidelines. But how would they separate the healthy population from those with the virus? Cathy Bean, RN stepped up to help. Donning protective gear, she and her staff went into the shelters daily to screen and test the residents. Northern Light Home Care & Hospice also equipped the city of Portland with a telehealth system so home care nurses could provide follow up appointments. As a result, they were able to help shelter residents with other medical conditions that may have been missed. Many of these people, due to COVID-19, were in quarantine, and meals brought outside their door with no one able to check on them. Now, we could get in there and take care of these people, and thats been very rewarding. Cathy Bean, RNElizabeth Bigler, RN Emergency Department Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital Elizabeth Bigler, RN thinks the most significant change to her job since COVID-19 is how much more physically exhausting it has become. She must often wear respirators, hoods, and other personal protective equipment, which can get quite hot and stuffy during a shift in the Emergency Department. Her biggest concern is making sure she doesnt bring this virus into her home. Its why she enters through a basement door, places her clothing directly into the wash, and showers before interacting with her family. My daughter who is eight is a sensitive, insightful soul. And shes had a lot of fears about me getting sick, not being able to see me if I did get sick, or me not coming home. Her daughter wrote her a touching letter one morning, telling her to be safe and that she loved her. Shes a really strong little girl. I had to tell her that this is a community effort. I cant not go because its scary. Some people still need help, and our job as community members is to help them. Elizabeth Bigler, RNJames Jarvis, MDSenior Physician ExecutiveIncident Command, Northern Light Health When Northern Light Health knew COVID-19 would arrive in Maine, James Jarvis, MD was chosen to coordinate the systems response among its member hospitals in addition to coordinating with state and local governments and the other major healthcare systems in Maine. Another unexpected role that Dr. Jarvis fulfilled during the pandemic was to be the primary spokesperson for Northern Light Health for weekly statewide news conferences via Zoom. Several times a week he would convey critical information to members of the media and our communities. One of the pleasant surprises Ive had during this time was somebody randomly driving by, lowering their window, and saying, Dr. Jarvis, how are you doing? You always ask how were doing through TV, we want to make sure youre okay. I teared up a little because, sure its neat to be recognized, but it was that sense of community that Mainers have to say, we need to make sure youre okay because we appreciate what youre doing. James Jarvis, MDCaroline Joyce, PACNorthern Light Primary Care Northern Light CA Dean Hospital Caroline Joyce loves the outdoors and dreams of retiring in a small rural community where hiking, fishing, and camping abound. She and her husband built their retirement home in Greenville, and she took a job at Northern Light CA Dean Hospital in September of 2019. Little did she realize how good her timing was to move to a rural community before the outbreak of COVID-19. As a primary and acute care provider, she willingly staffed the drive-up screening tent outside CA Dean. She endured wind and rain and snow to screen patients. And, she did all this while her mother, living in a nursing home in another state, was diagnosed with COVID-19. Luckily, my mom experienced mild symptoms, and while I wanted to see her, she was in an area of Massachusetts that was really hit hard by the coronavirus, and I was here seeing patients. I couldnt risk exposing them or my family. Caroline Joyce, PACSue-Anne Hammond, DOMedical Director of Primary CareNorthern Light Mercy Hospital For Dr. Hammond, COVID-19 became personal very quickly as one of her long-time patients, with whom shed experienced many ups and downs, was among the first in Maine to die of the deadly coronavirus. It was a curve ball, and it felt so unfair, she said. Dr. Hammond was instrumental in setting up the COVID-19 response plan for Northern Light Mercy Hospital, which became a model shared with other Northern Light Health hospitals across the state. The drive-up swab and go tent at Mercys Fore River campus allowed people to safely and easily get tested for the coronavirus. The plan also included a respiratory tent site in Westbrook to assess whether people with symptoms needed to be admitted to the emergency department or sent home with care instructions. And it included a virtual clinic to keep patients out of hospital and primary care settings through telehealth for follow-up appointments. She worked seven days a week while her children were being schooled at home. She and her husband, also a front line provider, tried to allay their familys fears and correct misinformation in their communities. On the hardest days I still love what I do. I dont feel like Im a hero; Im doing what was asked of me and what I chose to do as a doctor. This is a hard time, but I dont think I want to be anywhere else in the middle of all of this. Sue-Anne Hammond, DOJodi Kierstead, RNNurse Manager, Specialty ICU Northern Light AR Gould Hospital As a nurse manager, Jodis Kiersteads world radically changed when COVID-19 showed up in Maine. She went from managing budgets and staff training to suddenly responding to a pandemic. She enjoyed watching her staff pull together. Youre taking a bunch of people out of their comfort zone and putting them through huge changes and for them to do it with a smile it was amazing! And Jodi did her part to help too. As Northern Light Mercy Hospital in Portland was becoming inundated with patients, they put out a call for additional staff to help. Not only did Jodi travel to Portland and support her colleagues, despite having a 10-month-old baby at home, she and her team assembled a care package for Mercy nurses. We look out for one another. Thats what nurses do. An
Medicare shortfalls-$79,159,055 (at cost) 120,638 persons served.Charity care provided-$3,314,632 (at cost) 2,623 persons served.Medicaid shortfalls-$68,853,765 (at cost) 82,017 persons served.