The MaineHealth Podcast

Working Together with COO Kelly Elkins, Episode 87

In this episode, MaineHealth Chief Operating Officer Kelly Elkins explores what it will take to lower the total cost of care across our system—while strengthening access, quality, and long‑term sustainability.

Joined by Rich Bayman, Chief Financial Officer for MaineHealth, the conversation moves beyond cost reduction as a financial exercise and instead focuses on what it means to redesign care delivery in ways that better serve patients, communities, and frontline teams.

Together, they examine the key drivers of cost, the importance of operational discipline, and how aligning strategy with day‑to‑day work can create meaningful, lasting change. The episode highlights how thoughtful resource allocation, clearer accountability, and smarter systemwide decisions can help us build a more efficient and resilient organization.

Andy's Open Door Live Broadcast on 06-17-26

AOD was on the road today, traveling to MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital's Parkview campus in Brunswick, ME. CEO Andy Mueller was joined by Mid Coast President Christopher Bowe, MD and MH Chief of Oncology Services Matthew Kulke, MD.

Andy and the panel discussed major campus upgrades at the Parkview campus, including the new Cancer Care Center. They touched on community philanthropy, Trellis primary care expansion, and efforts to improve access and quality across the region. 

Curbside Consult - Episode 14

Recent improvements in the self-reported wellbeing of MaineHealth physicians and APPs is welcome news. In this episode, Dr. Ranjiv Advani joins Dr. Heather Ward to discuss what’s going right with physician and APP wellness and what more can be done to foster human connection, improve organizational culture and spark positive systemic change. Dr. Advani is an emergency medicine physician at MaineHealth Franklin Hospital and director of provider wellbeing for MaineHealth’s Coastal and Mountain Regions. 

Curbside Consult is a podcast from the MaineHealth ACO that brings together specialists and primary care physicians. Each month, family physician hosts Dr. Mike Clark and Dr. Heather Ward welcome a new specialist to share their unique insights.  

Listen to Curbside Consult here or on your favorite podcast app, or on the MaineHealth intranet home page. To stay in touch with the show, follow the MaineHealth ACO on LinkedIn. 

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Well‑Being Rounds where we focus on provider and APP wellness!

Our hosts are MaineHealth provider leaders: Christine Hein, MD, Chief Wellness Officer, Ranjiv Advani, MD Coastal and Mountain Provider Wellbeing Medical Director, Elizabeth Eisenhardt, MD Southern Region Provider Wellbeing Co-Medical Director, and Stephanie Gray, PA Southern Region Provider Wellbeing Co-Medical Director.

In this episode, they introduce the podcast and share personal journeys into well‑being work. They discuss how burnout is driven by system factors, the power of peer support and leadership, challenges in primary care and rural settings, and practical solutions like scribes and Abridge to restore connection with patients.

Future episodes will rotate hosts, amplify frontline voices, and highlight team‑based approaches to sustain meaning, relationships, and joy in clinical practice.

Communication Strategies for Vaccine-Hesitant Communities

Today we welcome Dr. David A. Higgins as he outlines why vaccine-preventable diseases like measles are resurging, and how recent federal policy shifts and a low-trust environment have increased confusion. Despite the confusion, most people remain open to vaccination.

He offers practical, evidence-based communication strategies for clinicians and community leaders—clear recommendations, empathetic motivational interviewing, faith-community engagement, pre-bunking misinformation, and community-level messaging—plus resources to support local vaccine confidence efforts.

David A. Higgins, MD is a double board-certified pediatrician and preventive medicine specialist. He is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. 

MaineHealth Public Health Grand Rounds: Join us for engaging discussions on today’s evolving public health landscape. Hosted by Dr. Dora Anne Mills, MaineHealth brings together national and local experts to explore critical public health issues impacting Maine and communities across the country.

Preparing for the Next Pandemic - What We Must Do

Today we welcome Dr. Michael Osterholm as he explains why COVID-19 wasn’t "the big one," outlines failures in pandemic communication and preparedness, and offers practical steps to strengthen vaccines, respiratory protection, surveillance, and public trust.

He discusses his latest book, The Big One - We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics, co-authored by Mark Olshaker, published in 2025. He emphasizes that we have both the obligation and the tools to prepare. He discusses the benefits of wastewater and syndromic surveillance, and current concerns like hantavirus — stressing transparency, better messaging, and sustainable public health systems.

Dr. Osterholm is a Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, a professor in the Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School at the University of Minnesota.

He also has a podcast called Osterholm Update. 

MaineHealth Public Health Grand Rounds: Join us for engaging discussions on today’s evolving public health landscape. Hosted by Dr. Dora Anne Mills, MaineHealth brings together national and local experts to explore critical public health issues impacting Maine and communities across the country.

Vitals & Voices, Episode 4

We're talking about Mental Health Awareness Month, exploring provider mental health, empathy fatigue, and strategies for resilience.

In this episode, Jordan and Chris sit down with Mary Weatherbee, Program Manager, Provider Well-Being and Peer Support, to discuss the vital role of mental health awareness within care teams. We’re shining a light on the unique pressures faced by nurses and healthcare providers, and the importance of checking in on those who care for others.  Later in the show, our colleague Kristen connects with Laura Robbins, Manager, Health and Wellness Benefits to highlight MaineHealth resources including peer support, the Employee Assistance Program, and the Espresa wellness platform and reimbursement program to help staff find practical, confidential support. Whether you’re looking for personal resources or ways to support your colleagues, this episode is packed with essential information for a healthier workplace.

Working Together with COO Kelly Elkins, episode 86

In this episode, MaineHealth Chief Operating Officer Kelly Elkins explores what it truly takes to achieve—and sustain—CMS 5‑Star performance by making quality and patient experience everyone’s work across the system.

Joined by Dr. Omar Hasan, Chief Quality Officer for MaineHealth, and Helen Troy, Vice President of Quality & Safety, the conversation looks beyond ratings as a scorecard and instead examines how 4‑Star and higher performance becomes a way of operating every day. The episode discusses why CMS Star Ratings matter to patients and communities, the critical role of leadership and frontline teams, and how data transparency and shared accountability are driving continuous improvement. Together, they reflect on how embedding quality into culture—not initiatives—creates better, more reliable experiences for patients and families while supporting long‑term system performance.

Andy's Open Door Live Broadcast on 04-29-26

This episode of Andy's Open Door features a discussion with Vice President of Quality and Safety Mark Parker, MD, Lead Sonographer in the Southern Region Miranda Anderson and Quality leader from NorDx Julie Carrell, to discuss the role of Safety Stories in our culture of safety at MaineHealth and the new safety story library where the stories can be submitted and accessed. Julie and Miranda also shared their own incredible safety stories.

Today we welcome Joy Rhoden, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Health Outcomes and Care Transformation at the American Hospital Association (AHA). Joy explains how hospitals can use standardized data, care-delivery transformation, community partnerships, and workforce activation to reduce health disparities. She highlights maternal and child health, rural innovations, telehealth, doulas and community health workers. She talks about AHA initiatives like a Commonwealth Fund grant, an EPIC postpartum hemorrhage collaborative, an upcoming Healthier Together conference, and a new economic-impact guide.

The discussion emphasizes actionable tools, peer learning, policy advocacy, and scalable practices to help hospitals move from knowing the problem to measurable improvements in health outcomes for all.

MaineHealth Public Health Grand Rounds: Join us for engaging discussions on today’s evolving public health landscape. Hosted by Dr. Dora Anne Mills, MaineHealth brings together national and local experts to explore critical public health issues impacting Maine and communities across the country.

Virtual Public Health Grand Rounds is open to anyone interested in understanding the dynamic relationship between public health and health care.