The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland and Boston Children’s Hospital have joined forces in an alliance they say will improve patient access to highly specialized pediatric care.
They also promise better coordination between the two hospitals.
Under the arrangement, patients throughout Maine will get more coordinated access to care at Boston Children’s Hospital, and the facilities will jointly develop care protocols and pathways to ensure that children and adolescents get the right care in the right setting.
In some cases, Boston Children’s Hospital clinicians will be available to provide care at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland.
“Together, we can ensure that our patients have access to the most appropriate care close to home,” said Jeff Sanders, president of Maine Med, in a news release. “Children and their families require the highest levels of coordinated care that we can provide, and this alliance allows us to raise that bar on their behalf.”
The alliance builds on the hospitals’ longstanding working relationship. By teaming up in the areas of orthopedic oncology surgery, cleft lip and palate care, congenital heart disease, education and access, the hospitals said will better be able to coordinate patient care.
“Boston Children’s is dedicated to providing exceptional and compassionate family-centered care, driven by innovative and life-changing science,” said Sandra L. Fenwick, CEO of Boston Children’s Hospital.
She added that the alliance “will strengthen the shared commitment of two great institutions to improving access to the highest-quality care, and to improving the patient experience for the patients and families we are looking forward to serving together.”
