V O L . X X V I I N O. X V I
68
Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine
M
aine Medical Center wel-
comed its first patient in 1874
in the imposing Italian gothic-
style brick building that still sits atop
Bramhall's Hill in Portland today. e
hospital, called Maine General at the
time, was still under construction, and
it's been expanding ever since.
A century and a half later, Maine
Med is coming down the home stretch
of its largest expansion yet, slated to
wrap up in 2024. e overall cost of the
expansion is $588.4 million.
Not only is Maine Med the
state's largest hospital, but its parent,
MaineHealth, is the state's largest
employer in the state, with more than
21,500 employees, according to the
Mainebiz Book of Lists. Maine Med
employs 9,600 of those people.
While advances in medical technol-
ogy and increasing demand have always
influenced the hospital's many changes,
this new project puts a larger focus on
the patient experience and anticipat-
ing future space needs, both growing
trends in healthcare design.
"We wanted to increase the capac-
ity for what we do great today," says Jeff
Sanders, president of Maine Med, the
state's largest hospital and the flagship
of the state's largest health care system,
MaineHealth. at meant increasing
capacity to serve both the local com-
munity and capacity for procedural care
utilized by the whole state.
Maine Med's
new front door
The expansion of Maine's largest hospital will
change the shape of patient care
B y C a t i e J o y c e - B u l a y
I N N OVAT I O N / R & D
R E N D E R I N G / C O U R T E S Y O F M A I N E M E D I C A L C E N T E R
Maine Medical Center's $588.4
million expansion is on target for a
2024 completion. The project puts a
larger focus on the patient experience
while anticipating future space needs.
