The MaineHealth Podcast

Convenient, accessible, and increasingly sophisticated retail urgent care centers are bridging the gap between primary care and the emergency room—meeting patients where they are, both physically and in their expectations. But behind the convenience lies a complex and evolving story about care quality, cost, workforce, and integration with the broader healthcare system. 

In this episode, MaineHealth Chief Operating Officer Kelly Elkins discusses MaineHealth’s retail urgent care strategy with Mike Bianchi, Vice President Emerging Business Lines and Oncology Service Line and Alicia Faller, Medical Director Urgent Care. They explore what is driving its growth, how it will reshape the patient experience, and what role it will play in the future of value-based, consumer-centered care.

Listeners will learn how the urgent care model connects to MaineHealth’s broader mission—improving access, experience, and continuity through Epic integration—and how this pilot could scale to additional communities across Maine and New Hampshire.

In the latest podcast episode from the MaineHealth ACO, Dr. Peter Amann shares the latest from obesity medicine, including the GLP-1 revolution, the importance of treating obesity as a chronic disease and the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions. 

Curbside Consult is the podcast that brings together specialists and primary care physicians to discuss clinical topics, referral management and coordination of care. Each month, family physician hosts Dr. Mike Clark and Dr. Heather Ward welcome a new specialist physician 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. 

The Brain Trust: Conversations in Neurosciences Service Line 

In this Working Together episode, Chief Operating Officer Kelly Elkins takes you inside MaineHealth’s Neuroscience Service Line to highlight the work of its expert teams—neurologists, neurosurgeons, advanced practitioners, nurses and researchers—who are pushing boundaries in stroke care, epilepsy treatment, spine surgery, neuro-oncology, and more.  Joining Kelly are Shelly Davgun, VP Neuroscience Service Line for MaineHealth and Rob Ecker, MD Chief Neuroscience Service Line.

We learn how the mission of MaineHealth’s Neuroscience Service Line aligns with the system’s broader goals, what distinguishes MaineHealth’s approach to neuroscience care from other systems, and more. This episode highlights how technology (AI, advanced imaging, robotics), telehealth, research collaborations, and new residency programs are improving diagnosis, treatment, and continuity of care, and outlines goals for growth including a dementia program, expanded epilepsy services, and system-wide stroke certification.

Whether you’re a clinician, a healthcare leader, or a curious listener, learn how MaineHealth is integrating innovation, improving outcomes, and delivering compassionate, coordinated care across the communities we serve. 

MaineHealth CEO Andy Mueller introduced this episode of Andy's Open Door with a shout-out about the STAR (Stop, Think, Act, Review) tool and the creative ways care team members are sharing how they’re using STAR, inside and outside of work. Andy then welcomed Chief People Officer Scott Ballard for a conversation about the 2025 Care Team Experience Survey on Engagement and Safety Culture results, highlighting a record 78% participation and progress after switching to Press Ganey.

As hospitals across the country face growing workforce pressures and evolving patient expectations, virtual nursing has emerged as a powerful tool to improve clinical efficiency, enhance patient experience, and create a more sustainable model of care.

In this new Working Together episode, MaineHealth Chief Operating Officer Kelly Elkins explores the development and implementation of a virtual nursing strategy at MaineHealth—a bold step toward transforming how we support our patients and frontline care teams. 

Joining Kelly are leaders who are helping bring this vision to life at MaineHealth — Sharon Baughman, Chief Nursing Officer at MaineHealth and Linda Mynahan-Greenstein, Director Nursing at Mid Coast Hospital. They share how the strategy was developed, the challenges and insights along the way, and the measurable impact it’s already having across the system. 

They explore MaineHealth’s development and micro‑pilot of a virtual nursing strategy at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, Maine, focusing on admission and discharge support for bedside nurses.

They discuss implementation, early patient and nurse reactions, measurable goals, and plans to scale the model — emphasizing that virtual nursing augments care rather than replaces in‑person nurses.

This month, Mike and Heather sit down with thoracic surgeon and oncologist Dr. Gary Hochheiser to discuss lung cancer screening, early detection and the crucial role primary care can play in reducing lung cancer mortality.  

Curbside Consult brings together specialists and primary care physicians to discuss clinical topics, referral management and coordination of care. Each month, family physician hosts Dr. Mike Clark and Dr. Heather Ward welcome a new specialist physician 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. 

As healthcare delivery continues to evolve, the importance of seamless transitions across the care continuum has never been more critical. From skilled nursing and home health to palliative care and rehabilitation, post-acute services play a vital role in improving outcomes, enhancing patient experience, and supporting hospital throughput. 

In this episode, COO Kelly Elkins speaks with Patty Buiocchi, COO MaineHealth Post Acute Care, who is leading these efforts. They discuss how this supports our vision of working together so our communities are the healthiest in America, as well as the opportunities and challenges we face as we align care across settings.

In this episode of Andy's Open Door, Chief Government Affairs Officer Katie Fullam Harris joined Andy for a conversation about the essential work of MaineHealth’s Government Affairs team. Their discussion began with an overview of the federal reconciliation bill and how the Government Affairs team helps guide our organization through complex policy landscapes at the federal, state and local level through advocacy, education and collaboration.

Working Together with COO Kelly Elkins, Episode 67

In the latest episode of Working Together, Marco Diaz, MD, Chief Cardiovascular Service Line and Kathleen Gallen, VP Cardiovascular Service Line, join Kelly for a closer look at MaineHealth’s Cardiovascular Service Line—one of Northern New England’s most comprehensive, collaborative and patient-centered heart care programs.

They explore how MaineHealth is advancing cardiovascular care through innovation, system-wide integration, and a commitment to delivering the right care in the right place at the right time. Whether you’re curious about how we coordinate care across the system or interested in the latest advancements in cardiovascular innovation, you’ll gain valuable insights from the conversation.

In this month’s Curbside Consult podcast from the MaineHealth ACO, neurologist Megan Selvitelli discusses newer migraine treatments that primary care providers can initiate themselves, CMS’s new GUIDE model for dementia care and a common condition that can lead to superfluous neurology referrals. 

Curbside Consult brings together specialists and primary care physicians to discuss clinical topics, referral management and coordination of care. Each month, family physician hosts Dr. Mike Clark and Dr. Heather Ward welcome a new specialist physician to share their unique insights.  

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