June 2023 | View Archived Issues

Created by Angelina Clancy

• A Note from Susan
• Call for Applications - Fall 2023 Ignite Fund and Cohort
• Save the Date - June Blender Event
• Innovation Coffee Corner Reminder
• New Innovation Video - Intellectual Property
• Opportunities - Connect, Educate & Fund

• Transforming Care - VR in Pediatric Care
• Future of Healthcare Site Visit Event
• Thinking Differently Workshop
• Innovation Pop-Up Visit Brainstorming Question
• Clinical Coach Highlight - Rebecca Hoffman
• Innovation 101

Call for Applications! Advance Your Innovative Idea through the

Innovation Cohort and Innovation Ignite Fund

Applications are due October 1 at 12:00 p.m.

Start Your Innovation Journey by Joining the June Innovation Coffee Corner! 

Intellectual Property Fosters Discovery and Development of Inventions

Many care team members come to the Innovation Center to learn about intellectual property and to seek guidance on their innovation ideas. Watch our new Innovation video and hear from a few MaineHealth innovators who have been engaged with IP. Watch the video

Transforming Care

Easing Anxiety: VR Helps Pediatric Patients through Scary Procedures

When pediatric patients require infusion therapy, the experience can often make them feel anxious or nervous. Dr. Aaron Weiss, Nurse Amanda McGeachey and their colleagues at the new Sam L. Cohen Pediatric Infusion Center at Maine Children’s Cancer Program (MCCP) wanted to alleviate the stress for these kids and thought virtual reality might be the answer.

They brought the idea to MaineHealth Innovation and took part in the 2022 Spring Cohort to develop the concept. With the support and guidance of the Cohort, they’ve created a program to provide patient’s virtual and augmented reality experiences to distract them and create a calming environment during their procedures. Moving forward, more staff will be trained to assist patients with VR, and there’s potential to expand VR access to other locations, such as the emergency room, radiology and radiation therapy, where the ability to remain still during a procedure can be critical for patient care. Read More

“I think the biggest positive so far about the VR headset is that it’s almost like a video game and it seems like it’s something they’re familiar with. When they have the headset on, they really aren’t thinking about what’s going on around them (i.e. port access, lab draws), and they’re easily distracted with telling me what underwater animals they can interact with or which desert animals they help find water. When some kids come into clinic, they’ll immediately say, ’I need the VR for my access,’ which has been really helpful to us. It’s been awesome to be able to follow along with what they see just by having the paper that tells you the times/animals/what’s happening next.”

– Megan Walls, CNA, MCCP Certified Nursing Assistant

On May 9 the 2023 Future of Healthcare Founder Residency Cohort received an exceptionally warm welcome from MaineHealth CEO Andy Mueller, our Regional Leaders, Andy Patstone, Trampas Hutches and Joel Botler and many other Care Team Leaders at a MaineHealth site introduction. Throughout the day, Founders and MaineHealth Care Team members forged over 30 connections which include plans for clinical shadowing, cross-institution collaboration and the exploration of future projects. We are so pleased with the momentum and energy created at this event, and we look forward to creating additional pathways for collaboration and innovation in the future.

For more information on the Founders and the program, please reach out to Moriah Folsom: moriah.folsom@mainehealth.org

Photographed: Dora Mills, MD, MPH, Chief Health Improvement Officer at MaineHealth.

Clinical Coach Highlight

Clinical Coaches help drive the success of MaineHealth Innovation by providing clinical leadership and expertise as innovators work to solve unmet care needs.

Innovation101

By Angelina Clancy

Visualizing User Insights



Now that we’ve had a spark for an idea, we need to investigate the underlying problem. We talked last month about talking to users. By mapping out the design space, you will discover all the potential people involved in the problem you’re trying to solve. In Talking to Humans by Giff Constable, you learned to engage these users by asking open-ended questions, and listening carefully to gain insights into the needs and preferences of those you are designing for.

A second engagement option is to draw out what these users are thinking regarding the problem. The activity, Drawing it Out, from Ideo.org, guides participants through a process of visualizing ideas to spur deeper and different conversations. Either you can take on the task, or the user. A quick sketch, a graph, or timeline is a fantastic way to bridge potential language barriers and keep a record of your discoveries. This process will also help you learn unique insights. Often times the person participating is able to organize their thoughts visually and bring up ideas and conversation in a different way than talking.

You don’t need to be an artist for this exercise to work. Gaining new perspectives through a visual element will only further the insight into the problem you’re trying to solve. New and often better ideas come from visualization.

We encourage you to take out a pen and paper and get conversations started by drawing out some ideas. Reach out and let us know what you’ve learned! Innovation_center@mainehealth.org.