Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 10 : Fall 2011 | Page 56

Welly Ramsey, athlete at Maine Winter Sports Center, with Carl Flynn, MD, of Pines Health Services

Prime Athletes

Need Primary Care
by Karim Slifka

Winning takes ability. It takes focus and
discipline to develop that ability. Most importantly,
it takes the desire to win. The aspiring Olympic
athletes who train at Maine Winter Sports Center live
this formula every day. For them to be successful, it
takes an equally skilled and dedicated team to care
for them during their training. The latest addition to
this team is Carl Flynn, MD.

In 2002 Will Sweetser, Community Program
Director at the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC),
began a dialogue with Bill Flagg at Cary Medical
Center to explore ways they could collaborate to
56 Prime Athletes FALL 2011

support the athletes. Training for a biathlon or the
Olympics is grueling work. The demands are extreme
and the risks for injury or illness are very real. At
the same time, these Olympic hopefuls have little
income and often no health insurance. Cary took the
first bold step by inaugurating a program to provide
health care coverage for the athletes. The next
question was how to secure a reliable provider to
ensure continuity of care for them. When they need
a doctor, where could they go? Who would know
their health history? The answer became clear: Dr.
Carl Flynn at Pines Health Services.