Mount Desert Island Hospital is expanding its surgery capabilities with the newly formed MDI Hospital Surgery Clinic and general surgeon Kendra Blount, DO. Dr. Blount comes to MDI Hospital from the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, CT, where she completed her surgical residency. The 511-bed Hospital of Saint Raphael is a community teaching hospital affiliated with Yale School of Medicine and is renowned for excellence in patient care and medical education.
She received her Doctor of Osteopathy degree from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in 2007 and her undergraduate degree from Salisbury University in Maryland.
Dr. Blount’s practice will complement the surgical procedures available here through Eden Surgical Services and surgeons Dr. Charles Hendricks and Dr. Michael Mason. In addition to general surgeries, Dr. Blount has professional interest and expertise in breast and women’s surgeries, laparoscopic surgery, and cancer care.
Dr. Blount said she was drawn to MDI Hospital in part because of the Breast Center and expertise of radiologist John Benson, MD. Together, she said, they will be able to offer a wider range of diagnostic and treatment services. “We have the equipment and knowledge. Women won’t need to go anywhere else to receive these services,” Dr. Blount said.
MDI Hospital also offered a good match with her personal objectives in a permanent surgical position after residency. “I knew I wanted a rural area, a small community, and someplace just by walking out the door you can access the outdoors.”A not-for-profit community organization and supportive senior surgeon colleagues were also prerequisites, she said. “Even before I went on interviews I made sure I talked with whoever the surgeon was there. I really wanted someone who wanted to mentor someone,” which she said she found in Dr. Hendricks.
In addition to her surgical colleagues at MDI Hospital, Blount is also getting to know surgeons at other area hospitals, such as Eastern Maine Medical Center, Maine Coast Memorial Hospital and others. “If I have patients who need to have services there, I’d like to meet them face to face – to have base knowledge of who they are,” she said.
When she is not caring for patients in Bar Harbor, Dr. Blount plans to expand her medical mission work in less developed nations of the world. Last year, she spent time in Haiti offering her surgical skills. Prior to that, she spent a month in rural India.
Dr. Blount and her husband, Matthew, who are active athletes and outdoors-people, first came to Bar Harbor on vacation during her internship, or first year, of residency. “At that time we said, this would be a nice place to live. What if I got to work here.” Four years later, as she was nearing completion of her residency and entering the job market, her thoughts returned to MDI. “I thought it seemed like a good personality fit,” Dr. Blount said.
The Blounts, along with their dog, Elijah, are exploring the island, discovering new hiking trails, and enjoying the outdoor lifestyle MDI offers. They are also devoted fans of many less-than-mainstream sports such as rugby, soccer, and surfing.
But what Dr. Blount is enjoying most about her new role at MDI Hospital is being a part of the community.”It’s so nice just to be. Instead of thinking about graduating and thinking about all these things to tie up. There’s time to breathe, or just go for a walk. It’s ok just to have the walk around the lake be the end of the day.”
MDI Hospital provides an array of general, orthopedic, ophthalmologic, urologic, and obstetric/gynecologic surgical procedures. To learn more, visit mdihospital.org.