📣 MDI Certified Nurses Academy is now accepting applications for the next CNA Course!

📩 To apply, email barbarajean.bragdon@mdihospital.org
to schedule your interview and complete the application.

✅ Requirements include an MDIH background check and passing the CASAS reading exam (offered free through MDI Adult Education).

📝 CASAS Exam Dates:
Dec 5 (12–3) • Dec 6 (10–2) • Dec 9 (3–6) • Dec 11 (3–6) • Dec 16 (12–3) • Dec 17 (9–12)

📚 Course Start: January 9
Classes held Fridays, 8:30–5:30 through April.

💰 Cost: Free for MDIH employees • $1500 for non-employees (due Jan 7)

🎓 Only the first 8 applicants who meet all requirements will be accepted. ...

At MDI Hospital, we’re dedicated to providing patients with the most advanced diagnostic imaging technology available. ✨
Our state-of-the-art 1.5T Philips Ingenia Ambition MRI delivers high-resolution scans and exceptional image quality for precise, reliable results.
🩺 All scans are performed by board-certified MRI technologists and interpreted by board-certified radiologists.
📅 Enjoy convenient scheduling, expedited exams, and timely reporting.
💳 We accept all major insurance and offer financial planning for self-pay patients.

📞 Scheduling Phone: 207.288.5082, ext. 1419

#MDIHospital #MRI #DiagnosticImaging #HealthcareExcellence #PatientCare ...

Rising costs are making it harder for many of our neighbors to keep food on the table and heat their homes. Help is available. 🫴🏻 Reach out to the local food and fuel assistance resources listed in the graphic below: ...

👻 Happy Halloween from MDI Hospital & Health Centers! 🎃 Say “Boo to the Flu” and ask your provider about your vaccine options. Contact your primary care provider’s office to schedule your vaccines! 💉 ...

💗 Wear Pink 2025 for Breast Cancer Awareness 💗

This month, MDI Hospital & Health Centers team members came together to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
Wearing pink is one small way we honor survivors, remember those we’ve lost, and raise awareness about the importance of early detection and regular screenings.

Together, we stand strong for our patients, families, and community. 💕
Learn more about MDI Hospital`s Breast Health Center at: https://www.mdihospital.org/health-centers/breast-center-at-mdi-hospital/

#WearPink #BreastCancerAwareness #MDIHospital #CommunityofCare ...

🏥 National Stroke Awareness Day — Advancing Stroke Care at MDI Hospital 💙

Stroke is one of the leading causes of serious long-term disability in the United States. Each year, nearly 800,000 people experience a stroke — that’s one every 40 seconds. Recognizing stroke symptoms quickly and acting fast can save lives and improve recovery outcomes.

At Mount Desert Island Hospital, we’re committed to improving stroke recognition and response through evidence-based care. Our team is actively working toward the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Rural Recognition, which honors hospitals that demonstrate excellence in stroke care and ensure patients in rural communities receive timely, high-quality treatment.
To achieve this recognition, our hospital aims for at least 75% compliance across key stroke measures, including:

🧠 Door-In/Door-Out time ≤ 90 minutes for patients transferred for acute therapy
🧠 Door-to-CT ≤ 25 minutes
🧠 Documentation of last known well or time of symptom discovery
🧠 IV thrombolytic therapy within 60 minutes of arrival and within 4.5 hours of onset
🧠 NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) completed and documented
🧠 Dysphagia screening prior to oral intake
🧠 EMS pre-notification prior to arrival
🧠 CT or MRI interpreted within 45 minutes of arrival
🧠 Stroke consultation completed

Our multidisciplinary stroke team is using these benchmarks to guide real-time process improvements, strengthen collaboration, and ensure that every patient experiencing stroke symptoms receives timely, coordinated care.

For questions about our stroke readiness efforts, please reach out to Abby LaPlante, Quality Coordinator, or Jon Bell, Director of the Emergency Department. ...

When Megan and Bailey Stillman learned they were expecting their first child, the couple imagined the journey unfolding close to home. Bailey had grown up in Bar Harbor, Megan in Brewer, and together, they had built their life on Mount Desert Island. Megan was already an established OB patient at MDI Hospital when, at around 20 weeks pregnant, they received the news that the labor and delivery unit would be closing.

The couple went to all the community meetings and events following the closure, wanting to voice their concern and learn all they could. But as their pregnancy went on, they began to see a new picture of what their journey could look like.

Megan continued her prenatal care at Lisa Stewart Women’s Health Center, only leaving the island for appointments three times. When it came time to deliver, they headed to Bangor. They spent three days in the hospital and on the day their daughter Perry was born, nine other babies shared the nursery, but Megan and Bailey said they never would have known. “It was so quiet and peaceful.” Megan said, adding, “At the end of the day, we’re in Maine, it’s always going to have that small-town feel.”

Being there also gave them a new understanding of reasons for the labor and delivery closure back home. “While we were in Bangor, we gained a lot of perspective that we are so grateful for,” Bailey said. “In August alone, there were something like 150 babies born at Northern Light [Bangor]. The doctors and nurses talked about how important that kind of volume was for patient safety, and when we were there, experiencing it first-hand, we got it.”

Now, with their beautiful little girl, Bailey and Megan feel nothing but gratitude. “We hope everyone can rally around what we do have here on the island because it’s really great. We went to all the town meetings, we were concerned about the closure, but we would not change a single thing about our experience here or our time up in Bangor.”

Read the full story on our website mdihospital.org/featured ...

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses: Congratulations Melanie Clauson, RN!

“Melanie Clauson repetitively goes above and beyond to ensure my mom receives the most appropriate care imaginable throughout her cancer journey. My mom came in for an outpatient lab. I popped into the oncology department to express my concerns. It was the end of the day and Melanie went above and beyond to advocate for getting additional labs ordered. She then knocked on the outpatient lab door to make sure the added labs were done. Then she spent time with her in the outpatient lab, saw how sick she was, and gently encouraged her to go to the ER. She didn’t stop there, she talked with the ED staff, stayed with her, and took the time to truly listen to her worries. The way she supported both of us through that moment meant the world to us. Her kindness, expertise, and genuine compassion brought us comfort when we needed it most. I know we are not the only recipients of her incredible care. All those Melanie Clauson cares for are beyond fortunate to have her world.”

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

“I’m honored to present this award to Melanie as she is a testament to the kind of compassion and caring all of our Infusion Center patients and families receive.”
-Deborah Block, RN, Vice President of Nursing Services/CNO

Read more about Melanie Clauson`s DAISY Award here: https://www.mdihospital.org/featured/the-daisy-award-congratulations-melanie-clauson-rn/

You can learn more and nominate a nurse here: https://www.mdihospital.org/daisy-awards/ ...