History

When Central Maine Medical Center announced plans in 2000 to build the region’s first cardiac services center, residents of central and western Maine came together to support the hospital’s bid to provide local access to advanced cardiac care.

In fact, the region virtually bubbled with enthusiasm for the project as area residents initiated letter-writing campaigns, phoned various government officials, and even visited CMMC unannounced to pledge their support. Some 400 people attended an informational meeting hosted by CMMC at a local conference center, many driving considerable distances to voice their support.

“It was truly gratifying to see the breadth and depth of the support for the cardiac center,” said Central Maine Healthcare Corporation Chief Executive Officer Peter E. Chalke, who was CMMC’s chief executive officer at the time. “In the end, I think it was very much the people of central and western Maine who assured that the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute would become a reality.”

CMHVI continues commitment to service that began more than a century ago

It was nearly 120 years ago when a small group pressed into the attic of a brick house on Lewiston’s Main Street to watch Edward H. Hill, M.D., amputate the leg of 18-year-old Charles Teague, who suffered from “white swelling of the knee.” Nothing more is known about Mr. Teague, his diagnosis or his recovery. The details of his life have vanished in the mists of time.

But for those who crowded into the oppressive attic room on that sultry July day, Mr. Teague was an historical figure of sorts: he was the first surgical patient at the newly-opened Central Maine General Hospital. A group of area residents, with Dr. Hill foremost among them, had worked for years to create a hospital, and now their labors had borne fruit.

What would the founders of Central Maine General Hospital think if they could mingle with the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute physicians and nurses? Standing in one of CMHVI’s state-of-the-art operating rooms, could Dr. Hill conceive what he set in motion not long after the Civil War? And by the same token, can today’s patients at CMMC and CMHVI truly understand how far medicine has come.

Comparing healthcare in 1891 with healthcare today is like comparing a horse-drawn carriage with a jet plane. But despite their vast differences, the horse and the airplane serve a shared purpose: moving people and things from one place to another. So too does the CMHVI of today share a mutual purpose with the 19th century Central Maine General Hospital: both organizations were conceived to improve the lives of the patients they serve.

CMHVI is realization of regional services vision

By the mid-1990s, former CMMC Chief Executive Officer William W. Young, Jr., the CMMC and CMH governing boards recognized that the Medical Center was poised to become a tertiary care center capable of providing more sophisticated healthcare services. They also saw that the hospital’s geographic location made it accessible with relative ease to some 400,000 people.

The need for advanced cardiac services was clearly demonstrated by the large number of cardiac patients who were traveling long distances for care. After CMMC’s Certificate of Need Application to develop the cardiac surgery and cardiac angioplasty program was approved by the Maine Department of Human Services in October 2000, a team of physicians, nurses and managers at CMMC set to work implementing a CMHVI service model that fused a state-of-the-art facility with an evidence-based clinical practice based on sound research and tested principles of care.

“The vision of CMHVI is straight-forward,” Bill Young said. “CMHVI will reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and its complications within the central and western Maine region that it serves. CMHVI will expand and improve access to comprehensive cardiovascular services at all levels, including community-based prevention, education, diagnosis, treatment, and on-going disease management. The unwavering goal of CMHVI is to provide high-quality patient- and family-focused care.”

A quality program hits its stride

Since admitting its first patient in May 2003, CMHVI’s clinical program has grown to include a comprehensive staff of cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons, cardiologists with subspecialty expertise, physician assistants, nurses and other care providers. Objective measurements of CMHVI's quality of service have consistently met or exceeded national averages.

Of special note is the outstanding emergent heart attack care program that CMHVI has developed in cooperation with the CMMC Emergency Department and regional EMS responders. This effort has resulted in some of the shortest “door to balloon times” in the United States, meaning that most of those seeking heart attack care at CMMC are getting the help they need well within the 90-minute safety margin that is considered the standard of care.

In 2009 CMHVI expanded its range of services to include vascular and endovascular surgery with the addition of three surgeons. Nearing the mid-year mark in 2010, the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute employed 12 physicians, three physician assistants, and a nurse practitioner who were providing patient care at locations in nine communities.