Applications are Open for the Innovation in Education Award!

Applications due April 10 at 11:59 pm.

The Interprofessional Innovation in Education Fund Award is a new funding opportunity open to all 22,000 MaineHealth care team members. Medical Education (DME) and MaineHealth Innovation are collaborating to support novel ideas that solve an unmet health care professional education need.



We invite you to submit innovative learning and development models (e.g., curriculum), processes or products that will positively impact learners and help us achieve the MaineHealth vision of working together so our communities are the healthiest in America.

In the spirit of interprofessional collaboration, this award requires that the applicant and implementation team represent more than one health profession. Ideally, your innovative idea will also apply to learning and development in more than one health profession.

Learn more and apply

To learn more, sign up for a info session using the links below:

March 15, 7–8 am

March 16, 12–1 pm

March 22, 7–8 am

Helping Care Team Members Think Differently

“[Our team] had many many "light bulb" moments [throughout the workshop]”

“The workshop made it feel like we were all on a level-playing field when it comes to knowing to develop innovation”

“This workshop makes the organizational value of innovation more accessible!”

Since the beginning of the year, we've hosted about 16 Thinking Differently workshops with various teams throughout the MaineHealth system! It has been a delight to see the culture of innovation grow.

The workshop has received positive feedback from 96% of participants, who said they would recommend it to others.

According to 96% of participants, the workshop helped them feel more committed to fostering innovation.



94% of participants found the workshop's content practical and useful for their work practice.

Reach out to Elena Brondolo, Manager of Innovation, to learn more and book a workshop with your team!

The Innovation team is hosting pop-ups at local heath systems to connect with care team members.



Over the month of February, we have visited local heath systems to introduce the Innovation Center, meet with care team members, and share information about available programs and services. We've connected with a variety of employees in the system and made valuable connections that help foster a culture of innovation. Come say hi and share your ideas with us when we visit your location!

Upcoming visits:

Feb.27 - Franklin Memorial Hospital

March 3 - Stephens Memorial Hospital and Western Maine Primary Care

Connect with Angelina Clancy, Program Coordinator, Innovation, to learn more and plan a pop-up at your local health system!

February 15 Blender Event Recap by Kim Harvey

Dynamic co-founders of WAVED Medical from the University of Maine, Andre Khalil, MS, PhD and Kendra Batchelder, MS, PhD candidate, presented their innovative work focused on using a computer algorithm to help detect breast cancer at an earlier stage, to a highly interactive group of 50 inquiring minds. This fun, rapid ideation session over zoom, explored the innovation challenges Andre and Kendra face as they hope to bring their product to market with the goal of identifying more high-risk patients and getting them the care they need.

Don’t miss the next Blender event on April 12!

More details will be available in the next Innovation newsletter. 

Providers at Mid Coast Hospital’s inpatient behavioral health unit have long been challenged with demanding shifts and rigid on-call schedules, which sometimes resulted in burnout and low morale. Dr. Leah Bauer worked with the care team to find an innovative way to mitigate the stress. The result is a rotating schedule that gives every NP seven days off every three weeks. The change has been a resounding success!

Three NPs are rotated through the schedule, so there is always an NP on duty. The staff is flexible and supportive of each other, filling in gaps and covering shifts, when needed. The unit physicians are better able to focus on consults and specialized care, while the NPs cover the day-to-day inpatient behavioral health patient needs.

“We have seen a dramatic improvement in efficiency and effectiveness of care – including higher patient and staff satisfaction – since transitioning to this new provider model. Our NPs and the model they created are fantastic, and we are grateful to have them on our team.” – Mackenzie Dufresne,

RN (nurse manager)

Read More

Innovator Highlight

Pediatric Surgeon Innovator Jeff Halter at the BioME Virtual Coffee Hour!: Medical Devices

March 7, 10:00-11:00 am



Register Here

Join BioMe for a virtual hour to "learn and connect" with Maine scientists and life science professionals. Learn about the medical device sector within Maine’s life sciences industry. Speakers will introduce their companies, medical devices share information on attaining FDA approval.

IP 101

Diving into the Basics of Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. MaineHealth uses IP and technology transfer to foster discovery and the development of inventions by care team members that will advance healthcare for the benefit of the public.

The IP process can begin when an innovator comes to the Innovation Center with their invention. We will have an informal review of the circumstances and subject matter of the invention and determine if there is IP to protect.

There are four classifications of IP that we focus on:

1. Trademark: The look and feel of a logo. It’s your brand that you want people to recognize right away.
2. Copyright: An exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, or display creative material. It's known by the C inside the little circle
3. Trade Secret: Something that isn’t published or shared. It’s the secret sauce.
4. Patent: Exclusive rights are given for something for a set period of time, and generally prevents others from making, using, or selling your invention.

At Mainehealth we deal mostly with patents, which gives exclusive rights to something for a set period of time, and generally prevents others from making, using, or selling your invention.

Below is what the development process of IP looks like: