This marks the 14th year of the Maine Track partnership between Maine Medical Center and Tufts Medical School
Portland, Maine – Maine Medical Center (MMC) held its tenth edition Maine Trail Celebration event on Saturday April 30, recognizing the 46 Maine Track students who will graduate from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston in May. After completing the program which includes classroom instruction in Boston with community practice in Maine, this year’s class will begin residencies this summer, including 12 at MMC.
Captain Chris Cassidy, President and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, delivered the opening address at the ceremony. Captain Cassidy, who grew up in York, Maine, also served as NASA’s chief astronaut and is a retired US Navy SEAL. He currently leads the effort to build the National Medal of Honor Museum in Texas, the foundation’s leadership institute and a monument.
“I’m very fortunate to have served our nation in two great jobs, and as I reflect on retirement from government and the military, it’s that sense of service that has touched me,” Cassidy said. “I am thrilled and honored to share this day with these Maine Track students as they begin their careers serving patients in Maine and other rural communities.”
The Maine Track program is a partnership between MMC and Tufts formed 14 years ago to help address the shortage of doctors in Maine, provide financial aid to aspiring Maine medical students and develop an innovative program focused on the community education. MMC’s annual Maine Track celebration marks local recognition for medical school students, who will also participate in a graduation ceremony with Tufts on May 22.
“The past two years have demonstrated why the medical field is one of continuous learning and growth,” said Doug Sawyer, MD, academic director of MaineHealth and interim medical director. “We are proud of the role the Maine Track program plays in Maine Medical Center’s three-part mission to care for our community, educate the caregivers of tomorrow, and seek new ways to improve care, and we We look forward to seeing the continued success of our graduates, many of whom will continue their residency studies at Maine Medical Center this summer.
By the time this year’s cohort graduates from Tufts, 362 physicians will have graduated from the Maine Track program since its launch. As of December 2021, 33% of Maine Track graduates who have completed residency are practicing medicine in Maine.
“I am humbled and honored to be part of this incredible group of Maine Track students whose intelligence, compassion, resilience and commitment to our state is inspiring,” said Ben Davison, PhD candidate in medicine and class lecturer for the class of 2022. “The Maine Track program and its amazing faculty have provided me with a world-class education in my home state, giving me the opportunity to learn first-class rural medicine. hand, to connect with the population I will serve and to create professional networks.”
You can see a Maine Track Celebration recording here.
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About Maine Medical Center
Maine Medical Center (MMC), recognized as Best Regional Hospital by US News and World Report for 2018-2019, is a comprehensive healthcare resource for residents of Greater Portland and statewide, as well as northern New England. Incorporated in 1868, MMC is the state’s largest medical center, licensed for 637 beds and employing nearly 8,700 people. MMC’s unique role as a community hospital and referral center requires an unparalleled depth and breadth of services, including an active educational program and a world-class biomedical research facility. As a nonprofit institution, Maine Medical Center provides nearly 23% of all charitable care provided in Maine. MMC is part of the MaineHealth system, a growing family of healthcare services in northern New England. For more information, visit www.mmc.org.
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