Thu, 07/11/2019 - 15:14

(left to right): Chris Rector, Regional Representative for Senator Angus King; Vicki Doudera, House District 94, Camden, Islesboro and Rockport; Ann Bresnahan, campaign Co-Chair; Richard Peterson, president MaineHealth and CEO Maine Medical Center; Lee Woodward, Chair, Coastal Healthcare Alliance Board; David Flanagan, president of Viking Lumber, campaign volunteer and Coastal Healthcare Alliance Board Member; Mark Fourre, MD, president of Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County General Hospital; Mark Eggena, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Pen Bay Medical Center; Joanne Campbell, Executive Vice President of Risk, Camden National Bank; Mark Breton, Chief Financial Officer, Cedarworks, campaign volunteer and Development Committee member; Samantha Hill, Vice President/Senior Business Relationship Officer, The First National Bank (Photo courtesy Camden National Bank)

CAMDEN — Construction of a new, two-story Health Center in Rockport begins this month, and will be ready for occupancy in late summer 2020. The facility is to help Pen Bay Medical Center meet the healthcare needs of a growing population in Midcoast Maine, according to a news release.

Camden National Bank has announced a $250,000 commitment to PBMC to provide early funding for the construction of the 41,513-square-foot building on the hospital’s campus.

Hospital and bank staff, trustees and community members gathered at a recent groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of the project.

“We are proud to make a significant investment in Pen Bay Medical Center’s planned expansion, improving medical services for the Midcoast region, where many of our employees, customers, shareholders and community partners live,” said Greg Dufour, President and CEO of Camden National Bank, in a news release. “We believe it’s our shared responsibility to continue investing in vital, healthy communities for all, and we look forward to seeing this important project come to life.”

The new Health Center will be a two-story stand-alone building with the main entrance on Anchor Drive. In addition to a community room, the first floor will house the pediatrics, audiology and speech pathology, and ear, nose and throat practices, as well as pediatric physical and occupational therapy.

The Health Center will also provide space where specialists from the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland can meet with patients in Rockport, reducing the need for children with special health needs to travel to Portland.

The second floor will house the internal medicine, family medicine and psychiatry practices, as well as the Integrated Medicated Assisted Treatment (IMAT) practice for treating opioid use disorder.

“We thank Camden National Bank for this major gift and for the outstanding leadership the bank and its employees continue to bring to our coastal communities,” said Mark Fourre, MD, president of Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County General Hospital. “This gift allows us to break ground on a new health center ahead of schedule; however, it’s about so much more than bricks and mortar. It’s about making a difference. This gift will improve the lives of our families, friends and neighbors by helping us to better respond to their healthcare needs.”