Today, long-serving physicians including noted
Vascular Surgeon Dr. Pedro Simon, Radiologists Dr. Madjid
Yaghmai, and Dr. John Stewart, ER physician Dr. Dan
Harrigan, ENT surgeon Dr.
Naryanna Prasanna, and
Neurologist Dr. Elizabeth
Quayle continue to provide
stewardship for a medical
staff that now is approaching
60 physicians and mid-level
providers.
Executive leadership
has also been and continues
to be vital to our success
including the efforts of
Clayton Harrington, who
led the hospital from 1960
through 1979 including
several expansions of the
old hospital and the move
to the new Cary Medical
Center, John McCormack,
Chief Executive Officer
from 1979 through 1996 as
the hospital expanded local
health services for Veterans,
and our current CEO, Kris
Doody, who has served since
1999 and has guided us
through major expansions
of our medical staff and our
transition into the era of
electronic medicine.
A Salute to Veterans
In the early 1980’s a small group of Aroostook
County Veterans met at the Caribou VFW Hall to discuss
the idea of creating a health clinic for veterans living in the
County who traditionally traveled several hundred miles
to Maine’s only VA Hospital at Togus, Maine. Then Cary
Medical Center Executive Director John McCormack,
instructed his Public Relations Director Bill Flagg to attend
the meeting and offer whatever support the hospital could
provide. Quoting John McCormack at the time, “…
because you never know. Someday Caribou might be the
hub of Veterans Health Services in Aroostook County…”
Thanks to the work of a dedicated group of veterans
who, like their battle-tested-comrades would never give up,
the rest as they say, is history, a glorious history. For nearly
two decades these veterans worked in cooperation with Cary
Medical Center, the Veterans Administration, the State of
Maine, and political leadership to achieve major victories.
Today the campus of Cary Medical Center, boasts a VA
Outpatient Clinic that sees some 7,000 patient visits every
year and a Maine Veterans Home featuring 40 long- term
care beds and 30 residential
care beds.
It took courageous men
and women to make all of
this happen. Men associated
with the Aroostook County
Veterans Medical Facility
and Research, Inc. Cary
Medical
Center
has
considered it a privilege
and an honor to serve our
veterans and we stand
ready to continue advocacy
for expanding healthcare
services available locally for
veterans. This is needed
more than ever as brave men
and women return home
from courageous service in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Volunteers Keep On
Giving
The Cary Medical
Center Auxiliary has been the
largest financial supporter
of the hospital since its
inception.
Contributing
several hundred thousand
dollars over the past 30 years,
the auxiliary not only is a
major donor but a major public relations and community
relations arm of the hospital.
In 1954, a hospital Board Member, Harry Smith,
remarked to his daughter, Celia Cameron, that it would be
a good idea to organize women in the community to assist
the local hospital. After an initial meeting of leading women
in the community, a larger meeting was held on September
28th to form the Cary Memorial Ladies Auxiliary. Over
the next 55 years the Auxiliary would provide a variety
of valuable services to the hospital. The move to the new
hospital saw a continued presence of the auxiliary. Among
their many projects, the Auxiliary opened a new hospital
gift shop. Today, the gift shop is a major fund-raiser for
the Auxiliary and is managed completely by volunteers.
The Auxiliary has also sponsored the annual ‘Walk for
Care’ Breast Cancer Awareness Walk raising more than
$100,000 for breast cancer services at Cary and has just
recently completed a major hospital beautification project
WINTER 2010 85 Years of Cary 29