Local Student and Artist Gives Back to MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital’s Family Birth Center

MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital Family Birth Center care team members, artist Miles Merriam and his mother stand in front of one of the art pieces he created, titled Woodland Lullabies, installed in the department. Pictured from left: Amy Campbell, DMD; Miles Merriam, artist; Jennifer McKenna, MD, associate medical director of MaineHealth Obstetrics and Gynecology Rockport; and Thomas O’Connor III, MD, MaineHealth Obstetrics and Gynecology Rockport.

ROCKPORT, Maine – In April, MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital’s Family Birth Center welcomed two new original art pieces by an artist with a personal connection to the hospital.

The artist, Miles Merriam, a 15-year-old student at Oceanside High School in Rockland, created the paintings as a way to give back to the place where

PEN BAY MEDICAL CENTER HONORED

PEN BAY MEDICAL CENTER HONORED WITH QUALITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR STROKE CARE

Pen Bay Medical Center has received the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver-Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for the treatment of stroke patients.

Get With The Guidelines Stroke helps hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Pen Bay earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include aggressive use of medications and risk-reduction therapies aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

Pen Bay also received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time between hospital arrival and treatment with the clot-buster tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. People who suffer a stroke who receive the drug within three hours of the onset of symptoms may recover quicker and are less likely to suffer severe disability.

Robert Stein, MD
Robert Stein, MD
Robert Stein, MD, Pen Bay neurologist notes, “Pen Bay is dedicated to improving the quality of stroke care and The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Stroke helps us achieve that goal. With this award, our hospital demonstrates our commitment to ensure that our patients receive care based on internationally-respected clinical guidelines.”

“We are pleased to recognize Pen Bay for their commitment and dedication to stroke care,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., M.P.H., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee and Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Studies have shown that hospitals that consistently follow Get With The Guidelines quality improvement measures can reduce patients’ length of stays and 30-day readmission rates and reduce disparity gaps in care.”

Get With The Guidelines–Stroke also helps Pen Bay’s staff implement prevention measures, which include educating stroke patients to manage their risk factors and to be aware of warning signs for stroke, and ensuring they take their medications properly. Hospitals can make customized patient education materials available upon discharge, based on the patients’ individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format in either English or Spanish.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the number four cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

The Best of 2012: “Crown For A Cure”

    In Union Maine a group of local heroes have formed an organization to raise money for worthy causes through beauty pageants. Sterling Crown wants to encourage and inspire self confidence in each girl. We want to keep positive attitude while having fun and meeting new people. “Our goal is to give each girl that opportunity do and show her best.” Each pageant will be helping others with its donations to a good cause.

This past weekend was their first pageant, “Crown For A Cure”, with proceeds going to the Bob Gagnon Cancer Fund at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine. Twenty-one girls from across the state ranging in age from three to twenty-five participated in the two day pageant. The girls were judged on,General Appearance, Enthusiasm & Friendliness, Poise and Confidence

The winners of the first “Crown For A Cure” were:
QUEENS: Lillian Simmons, Brooklyn McCarthy, Elizabeth Bowman, Sierra Murray, Destiny Mackenzie, Jessica Murry, and Crystal Wiley..

PRINCESSES: Chloe Delano, Skyla Libby, Sierra Metcalf and Ashley Lindsey
MINI PRINCESSES: Dakotah Brackett, Kailey-Ann Rhodes, Alexis Leeman, Kaitlin Bennett, Madeline Holmes, Alexys Mayhew, Shelby Collins, Emily Wiley and Erika Bramhall
OPTIONAL MODELING COMPETITION WINNERS: Lillian Simmons, Brooklyn McCarthy, Skyla Libby, Shelby Collins, Destiny Mackenzie
OPTIONAL OUTFIT OF CHOICE COMPETITION WINNERS : Lillian Simmons, Brooklyn McCarthy, Madeline Holmes, Emily Wiley, Destiny Mackenzie, Jessica Murry and Crystal Wiley
OPTIONAL PHOTOGENIC COMPETITION WINNERS: Lillian Simmons, Kailey-Ann Rhodes, Madeline Holmes, Emily Wiley, Shyann Metcalf, Jessica Murry and Crystal Wiley
HOSPITALITY COMPETITION WINNER [This is given to the person who collects the most money from ticket sales for the show. Money must be in at early registration on Friday or Saturday before the pageant. This is number of tickets sold, not the number coming to the pageant.]: Dakotah Brackett— with Susan Bennett and 19 others.

We would like to congratulate all of contestants they are all winners!

The Bob Gagnon Cancer Fund raises funds for the care and treatment of those affected by cancer. Through the generous gifts of many community members here in the Midcoast and on the islands, the Bob Gagnon Fund has contributed to cancer care at Pen Bay for many years. Some of the major projects funded include:

• Laptop computers for use by those receiving cancer care at Pen Bay
• Gas cards for those who need to drive to cancer treatments outside the Midcoast
• Common Journey - a support group program to meet the survivorship needs of women with breast cancer
• Family Room - a space especially for those supporting a cancer patient
• The Bob Gagnon Suite - three patient rooms and a family solarium for patients and their families at Pen Bay for hospice and palliative care. Many of those in this suite are cancer patients. This beautifully renovated space was dedicated on September 8, 2011 with Bob's family and friends present.
  

This year, funds raised for the Bob Gagnon Cancer Fund will help Pen Bay launch clinical trials, so that those who may benefit from this program can access it right here at Pen Bay. Dr. Nadia Ramdin and her team are working with the Maine Center for Cancer Medicine to add cancer trails to the clinical trials program at Pen Bay. This collaboration will expand Pen Bay's options for cancer patients to include the benefits of clinical trials close to home.

Sterling Crown Pageants directors. 

“Crown For A Cure”

    In Union Maine a group of local heroes have formed an organization to raise money for worthy causes through beauty pageants. Sterling Crown wants to encourage and inspire self confidence in each girl. We want to keep positive attitude while having fun and meeting new people. “Our goal is to give each girl that opportunity do and show her best.” Each pageant will be helping others with its donations to a good cause.

This past weekend was their first pageant, “Crown For A Cure”, with proceeds going to the Bob Gagnon Cancer Fund at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine. Twenty-one girls from across the state ranging in age from three to twenty-five participated in the two day pageant. The girls were judged on,General Appearance, Enthusiasm & Friendliness, Poise and Confidence

The winners of the first “Crown For A Cure” were:
QUEENS: Lillian Simmons, Brooklyn McCarthy, Elizabeth Bowman, Sierra Murray, Destiny Mackenzie, Jessica Murry, and Crystal Wiley..

PRINCESSES: Chloe Delano, Skyla Libby, Sierra Metcalf and Ashley Lindsey
MINI PRINCESSES: Dakotah Brackett, Kailey-Ann Rhodes, Alexis Leeman, Kaitlin Bennett, Madeline Holmes, Alexys Mayhew, Shelby Collins, Emily Wiley and Erika Bramhall
OPTIONAL MODELING COMPETITION WINNERS: Lillian Simmons, Brooklyn McCarthy, Skyla Libby, Shelby Collins, Destiny Mackenzie
OPTIONAL OUTFIT OF CHOICE COMPETITION WINNERS : Lillian Simmons, Brooklyn McCarthy, Madeline Holmes, Emily Wiley, Destiny Mackenzie, Jessica Murry and Crystal Wiley
OPTIONAL PHOTOGENIC COMPETITION WINNERS: Lillian Simmons, Kailey-Ann Rhodes, Madeline Holmes, Emily Wiley, Shyann Metcalf, Jessica Murry and Crystal Wiley
HOSPITALITY COMPETITION WINNER [This is given to the person who collects the most money from ticket sales for the show. Money must be in at early registration on Friday or Saturday before the pageant. This is number of tickets sold, not the number coming to the pageant.]: Dakotah Brackett— with Susan Bennett and 19 others.

We would like to congratulate all of contestants they are all winners!

The Bob Gagnon Cancer Fund raises funds for the care and treatment of those affected by cancer. Through the generous gifts of many community members here in the Midcoast and on the islands, the Bob Gagnon Fund has contributed to cancer care at Pen Bay for many years. Some of the major projects funded include:

• Laptop computers for use by those receiving cancer care at Pen Bay
• Gas cards for those who need to drive to cancer treatments outside the Midcoast
• Common Journey - a support group program to meet the survivorship needs of women with breast cancer
• Family Room - a space especially for those supporting a cancer patient
• The Bob Gagnon Suite - three patient rooms and a family solarium for patients and their families at Pen Bay for hospice and palliative care. Many of those in this suite are cancer patients. This beautifully renovated space was dedicated on September 8, 2011 with Bob's family and friends present.
  

This year, funds raised for the Bob Gagnon Cancer Fund will help Pen Bay launch clinical trials, so that those who may benefit from this program can access it right here at Pen Bay. Dr. Nadia Ramdin and her team are working with the Maine Center for Cancer Medicine to add cancer trails to the clinical trials program at Pen Bay. This collaboration will expand Pen Bay's options for cancer patients to include the benefits of clinical trials close to home.

Sterling Crown Pageants directors.