CARIBOU, Maine — Cary Medical Center celebrated National Hospital Week with many activities and has announced the expansion of its medical staff. Three specialists have joined the hospital, including Dr. John Beaulieu, emergency medicine; Dr. John Karod, urology; and Dr. Marilyn Ray, radiology. Clayton Jones, certified registered nurse anesthetist, will join the hospital in June.
Kris Doody, RN, CEO at Cary, said professional recruitment is an ongoing priority at the hospital, which with Pines Health Services is experiencing success.
“We are always in a recruitment mode,” said Doody, who announced the new additions to the hospital’s medical staff. “It is nice to have some success and to have such a great partnership with Pines Health Services.
“We are particularly pleased with the addition of Dr. John Beaulieu to our Emergency Department. Dr. Beaulieu is familiar to many people in The County, having worked in Presque Isle for a number of years,” Doody said. “We have been recruiting for several permanent full-time ER physicians to join our experienced Emergency Department for some time”.
The recruitment of Karod to Cary and Pines will add the availability of additional specialty surgical procedures. Karod has been practicing in Maine for a number of years and brings considerable experience to the position.
Radiologist Ray will replace Dr. Shawn Laferriere, who has accepted a one-year fellowship in radiologic oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Another development over the past year has aided recruitment. In 2016 Cary and Pines were selected to participate in a special program to bring third-year medical students to Aroostook County. In partnership with Maine Medical Center (MMC) in Portland, Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) offers a Maine Track for that offers clinical training in Maine and exposes medical students to both rural practice and training in a major tertiary medical center.
Cary had its first two students this past year and has already accepted two new students for 2017-18. Dr. Regen Gallagher, chief medical officer at Cary, said, “We had a wonderful experience with our first two students. They very much enjoyed their time with us and are actually considering returning to the County when they complete their training. Members of our medical staff were very supportive of the program and enjoyed the opportunity to work with the students.”
Doody said the hospital has experienced some very positive momentum over the past year.
“We have been very blessed with numerous quality awards, a $1.5 million renovation of our acute care unit and we are celebrating the success of the Jefferson Cary Foundation reaching a milestone with their Endowment Fund, topping $500,000. In addition, we continue to enjoy a very unique and wonderful relationship with Aroostook County Veterans, Maine Veterans Homes and the Veterans Administration. These relationships have been absolutely critical to the hospital.”
The $1.5 million renovation was aided by a $500,000 donation from the Jefferson Cary Estate. The Jefferson Cary Foundation will soon launch a campaign to raise funds to advance the mammography service at Cary to 3-D imaging or tomosynthesis.
Laferriere said, “Tomosynthesis allows for 3-D imaging of the breast tissue, giving radiologists a much clearer view. 3-D tomosynthesis has been shown to be especially important in screening women with dense breast tissue. The technology allows radiologists to detect more cancers, especially invasive cancers, earlier – by as much as 20 percent overall. In addition, the improved image quality helps reduce the number of women called back for additional views by as much as 25 percent.”
Laferriere noted that Cary is the only hospital in the County to currently offer low-dose CT scanning, a procedure helpful in identifying early lung cancers.
“Our low-dose lung CT program has grown exponentially since we began offering the service in 2015,” said Laferriere. “We are finding more lung cancers earlier for the people of Aroostook County.”
Advancing technology and expanding medical staff are only part of the success story at Cary, according to Galen Dickinson, chief financial officer. Earlier this year Cary learned that it is one of only 63 hospitals out of more than 2,600 in the nation to earn straight A’sin patient safety from the Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization. The hospital also earned, for the fourth year, the Women’s Choice Award for Best Experience in Obstetrics.
“Being recognized for providing outstanding quality and patient safety is absolutely critical to us,” said Dickinson, who has managed Cary’s finances for 32 years. “These are very challenging times particularly for small rural hospitals. One thing I always stress to our people is that if you take care of the quality and provide excellent customer service the dollars will take care of themselves. So far this has proven true for us here at Cary.”
Cary was one of only a few hospitals in Maine that ended its fiscal year 2016 in the black. Cary CEO Kris Doody credits the financial position to the performance of hospital staff, the growth in the hospitals cancer service, orthopedic program and the success of the new general surgeon, Dr. Rashmi Bawa, who specializes in breast surgery.
“Dr. Bawa’s practice continues to grow with patients now coming to her from throughout Aroostook County,” said Doody. “It is wonderful that we are able to offer this specialty right here for our patients, close to home. Dr. Bawa’s surgical practice is a great complement to our Women’s Imaging Center and breast health program.”
