Welcome Fall 2023 Innovation Cohort!

Hannah Taylor & Kate Campbell | Southern Maine Health Care (SMHC)

• The Central Line Dressing Kit: Step-by-Step

Alyssa Reeb & Melissa Kazdoy | Mid Coast Parkview Health (MCPH)

• Centering Pregnancy for MaineHealth

Allison Schmidt, MSN, RN, Peter Igneri, PA-C, Allison Sanford, BS, RT(R)(VI) & Kelly Ernst, PA-C | Maine Medical Center (MMC)

• Percutaneous Nephrostomy Program (including Intro Kit)

Sara Nelson (PI), Madeleine Puissant, Tania Strout, Isha Agarwal, Jeff Holmes, Malvina Gregory, Marin Johnson & Irit Altman | Maine Medical Center (MMC) -

• Developing Cultural Humility in the ED through a Simulated Experience for Interprofessional Learners in the Health Professions

Rebecca Brown | Maine Medical Center (MMC)

• Part-time Mindfulness Nurse

Dive in, plunge, go do it!

It was inspiring to see innovation in action and MaineHealth Care Team members actively involved!

MaineHealth's Susan Gatti, Vocational Employer Relations Specialist, Michael Nozdrovicky, Senior Director Nurse Academic Affairs, and Liam John, MD. First Year Resident

participated in an Innovation Summit alongside diverse members of the community, from undergraduate students to retired seniors, who were tasked to come up with novel products or services that support older Mainers in remaining in their homes or communities.

The event, coordinated by Moriah Folsom, Program Manager, began with a panel of experts, including MaineHealth’s Dr. Julia Redding, specialist in geriatric medicine, who framed some of the key opportunities and challenges facing aging Mainers, including social isolation, transportation, housing and healthcare access. Eight teams pitched their ideas to a panel of judges that included MaineHealth Program Manager Kristen Dorsey. Ideas included an app-based platform that matches students with older adults with extra bedrooms, an adaptive AI solution that serves up monitoring and reminders, an app for connecting old and new Mainers to address physical and emotional challenges of aging at home and an ergonomically designed walker.

Susan Gatti participated to learn more about how to support her own aging parents and found the experience both challenging and gratifying. Susan was intellectually stimulated and learned to collaborate quickly with a team she’d never met before who had diverse backgrounds. Her advice to anyone interested in Innovation is, "Dive in, plunge, go do it. You’ll meet interesting people and work on creative ideas.”

Michael Nozdrovicky was impressed by how much work his team accomplished at a rapid rate and that the results were very doable and tangible. He also found it very helpful to pitch a solution.

“It was like a breath of fresh air, an opportunity to be creative and think about health care through a kaleidoscope rather than a microscope,” says Liam John, MD. Liam was curious to learn more about the Innovation process and working with a diverse team to tackle healthcare questions and practice new skills. He was energized by connecting with people who were imaginative and wanted to think creatively about solving healthcare challenges. He adds, “It was an opportunity to share my skill set outside direct patient care, gain exposure to design thinking and learn how to take an idea and run with it while getting real feedback on the fly, all in a safe, experiential space.”

MaineHealth Innovation in collaboration with Community Health Improvement sponsored the first healthcare event hosted by the Roux Institute along with cosponsors, Maine Center for Entrepreneurs, University of New England and Maine Technology Institute.

MaineHealth's Precision Medicine Council



The MaineHealth Precision Medicine Council provides the guidance and resources to five working groups in oncology, cardiology, pediatrics, benign hematology and environmental and lifestyle factors to support their efforts in providing the most current and technologically advanced personalized care to their patients.

Chair:

• Anne C. Breggia, PhD, Director, Center for Applied Science and Technology, MaineHealth Institute for Research and Chair, MaineHealth Precision Medicine Council

Members:

• Scot Remick, MD, Chief of Oncology, MaineHealth Cancer Care Network (MHCCN)
• Robert Christman, MD, Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Maine Medical Center
• Karen Rasmussen, PhD, Medical Geneticist, MHCCN
• Robert Carlson, MD, Chief Medical Officer, NorDx
• James Reich, PMP, PBA, IT Senior Project Manager, MHCCN
• Thomas Gridley, PhD, Faculty Scientist III, MaineHealth Institute for Research
• Susan Miesfeldt, MD, Oncologist/Medical Geneticist, Maine Medical Center
• Joseph Nadeau, PhD, Faculty Scientist III, MaineHealth Institute for Research
• Susan Ahern, BA, Vice President of Innovation, Maine Health
• Christopher K. Peric, PharmD, BCPS, Director of Formulary Management and Value, Maine Health
• Guillermo Martinez-Torres, MD, FCAP, FASCP, President, NorDx
• Don MacMillan, MS, CHCIO, Senior Director of IS and Regional CIO, MaineHealth
• Doug Sawyer, MD, PhD, Chief Academic Officer, MaineHealth
• Chris Thomson, MD, Chief Medical and Transformation Officer, MaineHealth

Working Groups:

• Oncology
• Cardiology
• Pediatrics
• Benign Hematology
• Environmental and Lifestyle Factors

The Bonfire Fund provides an investment of up to $100,000 for an innovative solution where additional external or institutional funding opportunities can be explored from collaborators. The goal is to support an advanced novel solution related to improving the lives of our care team and community members. Funding may be invested in companies or soon-to-be-companies founded by MaineHealth care team members. Applications are due January 9 at 10:00 am.

MaineHealth Innovation welcomes anyone interested in Innovation to participate in one of our programs. They are fun and stress free!

If you're interested in being a reviewer for our upcoming Ignite Fund Pitch Day or would like to learn more about becoming an Innovation Clinical Coach, please reach out to Karen Budd to learn more, [email protected].

Intellectual Property 101

By Todd Keiller, Director of Technology Transfer, MaineHealth

MaineHealth Tech Transfer provides an invention disclosure process, intellectual property filing support, licensing negotiation and commercialization pathways. The MaineHealth Intellectual Property Policy is a generous benefit to those MaineHealth care team members who have a patentable idea.

Todd Keiller, Director of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at MaineHealth brings 30 years of experience in “transferring novel ideas that meet unmet care needs” into the marketplace. With extensive industry experience, Todd guides all care team members to better understand customers who might be interested in licensing their technologies, investors who might be interested in funding their inventions and managing the intellectual portfolio created by MaineHealth innovators. Intellectual property could be a patent, a copyright, a trademark or a trade secret.

How might we help protect your novel idea? Come meet Todd at The MaineHealth Innovation Intellectual Property info sessions held at 7:30 am the second Wednesday of each month.

Join the Meeting Here

New MaineHealth Innovation Team!

With the recent additions of Karen, Erin, and Carla, our team's diverse backgrounds and expertise are propelling MaineHealth's culture of innovation. We're further strengthening our teamwork and innovative mindset through a series guided by Carla. Stay tuned for workshops and training sessions for care team members in the future!