After years of dialogue among physicians and advanced practice providers across MaineHealth, the Board of Trustees in August gave its approval to the creation of a single, multispecialty medical group for all of MaineHealth’s employed providers.

“This is an important, transformative step forward in our development as a high-performing integrated health system,” said Bill Caron, CEO of MaineHealth.

The discussion of whether and how to bring providers across MaineHealth together under a single medical group dates back to 2011. In 2016 Joan Boomsma, MD, MaineHealth’s chief medical officer, began a structured deliberative process with a working group that included provider representatives from each local health system.

The resulting plan, which was endorsed by employed providers at every local organization across MaineHealth, is a carefully crafted approach to creating a governance structure for the system’s medical practices and its 1,700 employed providers.

{This] will enable us to better meet the challenges of a fast-changing health care environment. — Bill Caron, MaineHealth CEO

“This will be a medical group that is led by providers and respects their unique role in our organization caring for the 1.1 million people in our MaineHealth service area,” said Boomsma. “It will foster greater collaboration across our system and create new career pathways for our providers, making MaineHealth more attractive when recruiting physicians and advance practice providers.”

The plan includes creating a 20-member, provider-led board to oversee the multispecialty medical group. That initial board was approved on November 5 and will function as a committee of the MaineHealth Board of Trustees.

A search committee has also been formed to oversee the recruitment and hiring of a new leader for the medical group.
Boomsma and Joel Botler, MD, chief medical officer at Maine Medical Center and president of Maine Medical Partners, are overseeing development of the medical group until its new leader is brought on board in the late-spring/early summer of 2021, in advance of the expected launch on October 1, 2021.

“This plan aligns us with other high-performing systems across the country,” said Caron. “Forming such a medical group will enable us to better meet the challenges of a fast-changing health care environment, one that is especially demanding for those who deliver care in a rural state.”