Dr. Espinosa to establish full-time service in Caribou
CARIBOU — When Dr. Allan Espinosa and his family arrived in Caribou this September, for the first time in Cary Medical Center’s 89 year history, the Caribou hospital has a permanent full-time hematologist/oncologist on its provider staff. The hospital, working with Pines Health Services, has been recruiting for the specialty for a number of years, and according to Kris Doody, RN, CEO at Cary, the organization is thrilled to bring a full-time service to Caribou.
“We have been blessed to have a wonderful relationship with Oncologist Dr. Ronald Rohe, who has served Aroostook County for generations. He has provided a remarkable service and worked very hard for the benefit of patients throughout this region, and we are very grateful for his efforts.
Dr. Allan Espinosa
Hematologist/Oncologist
“Our new, full-time oncologist/hematologist, Dr. Allan Espinosa, has already made a significant commitment to the area. With his family he has purchased a new home in Caribou, enrolled his daughter in school and is just so excited to be in this community practicing his specialty. He brings with him an enthusiasm and personality that melds very well with the culture at Cary Medical Center. He has exceptional training and is committed to establishing state-of-the-art service and becoming a national leader in rural oncology/hematology.”
Doody went on to explain that while Cary Medical Center has not had a “full-time” oncology service, the hospital has built a strong reputation with patients and providers with its part-time program.
“Our patients who attend the Oncology Clinic at the hospital speak very highly of the staff and the level of care they provide. We have a tradition of providing oncology services for nearly half a century and the foundations of our program were built by extraordinary nurses like Donna Small, Marietta Brown, Prudy Dobson and others. They established a caring culture and built enduring relationships with physicians including Dr. Rohe and his team. Now we are looking forward to building a comprehensive, full-time service and creating a regional ‘Center of Excellence’ in oncology/hematology.”
Dr. Espinosa is employed by Pines Health Services and a member of the active medical staff at Cary. He completed his Hematology and Oncology Fellowship at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and performed his residency at Ohio State University Medical Center. Dr. Espinosa said that his family has been very well received by the community and have found Caribou to be just the kind of area they were looking for.
“People have been so friendly, so anxious to help us get settled. The medical community at the hospital and Pines have welcomed me with open arms, and I look forward to getting acquainted with health care providers throughout Aroostook County. Cary Medical Center is an exceptional facility and the staff here, including our oncology/hematology team are wonderful. I am confident that we are going to build a truly remarkable service here.”
Dr. Espinosa said that he intends to participate in the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s new Quality Initiative. The program integrates continuous quality improvement into patient-centered clinical practice, and has collaborated with the world’s leading cancer care experts to develop two key quality programs: Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI), and the QOPI Certification Program.
MAMMOGRAPHY TEAM members at Cary’s Women’s Imaging Center include, from left, Wendy Prashaw, RT(R)(M), RDMS, lead mammographer/ultrasonographer; Kimberly Wilcox, RT(R)(MR)(M),C-BPN-IC, breast health navigator; Kristal Duval, RT(R)(M), mammographer; Karie Ouellette, RT(R)(M), mammographer; and Leslie Anderson, PT, MSB, manager, Imaging and Rehabilitation Services.
“The ASCO’s Quality Oncology Initiative provides the quality measurement and improvement tools so valuable to your practice”, said Espinosa. “The program was created by world renowned oncologists and experts in quality using clinical guidelines and established standards of care. By participating in this initiative and working with these standards we can help assure that we are providing the highest quality of care to our patients.”
While oncology is a medical term fairly familiar to patients, it is the branch of medicine that studies tumors (cancer) and seeks to understand their development, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Hematology may not be so familiar, and involves the branch of internal medicine that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs and blood diseases. Hematology includes the study of etiology, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and prevention of blood diseases.
Jim Davis, CEO for Pines Health Services, a Federally Qualified Health Center, said that having the ability to provide full-time oncology and hematology services will be a great benefit to patients throughout Aroostook County.
“I too have to applaud the outstanding work of Dr. Ron Rohe and the dedication he has shown to this rural area of Maine. This is a vast geographic region with a sparse population and delivering special care like oncology and hematology is certainly a challenge. That is why we were so pleased to have Dr. Espinosa and his family locate here in Caribou. The development of this expanded service is a major step forward to providing access to comprehensive medical care close to home.”
Dr. Espinoza is now seeing adult patients in the Oncology and Specialty Services building on the Cary Medical Center campus. Patients are accepted by physician referral only. For more information or to contact the new oncology and hematology services call 207-498-2448.
