Category: News & Events

Machias and Calais – Down East Community Hospital and Calais Community Hospital are excited to announce that we have received confirmation that requests we submitted last year for CDS funds were approved and are included in the Congressionally Directed Spending for FY2026.  This means we will be receiving $4.99 million to renovate and expand the RHC at CCH and $2.2 million towards the construction of six modular town houses near DECH.  We can expect to receive the funds by Fall 2026.

The RHC

Expanding our RHC is crucial for meeting the healthcare needs of eastern Washington County. With limited access to medical care, increasing the number of physicians and nurse practitioners is essential. The current size constraints of the clinic hinder our ability to grow and serve more patients effectively. By expanding our facility, we can enhance our services and provide better healthcare options for the community members in need.

We will renovate and increase the size of the RHC by 4,500 sq ft, which will allow for space for 3 additional providers.  The expansion will improve ADA accommodations for patients and will provide better patient flows.

We are hoping to break ground with the expansion and begin the renovation process in the Spring of 2027 and have it completed by Spring 2028 or earlier.

The Town Houses

The addition of six modular town houses will provide the access to housing we need to enable us to continue to recruit necessary medical professionals to our service area.  The town houses will be used as short-term housing for medical professionals who want to come to the area and work at Down East Community Hospital.

Housing impediments to recruitment will be tempered, and the hospital will be able to alleviate holes in coverage and improve access for urgent/emergent care, and we will be able to greatly reduce the cost on rentals and traveling staff.  This also means we will have more funds to invest back into the hospital.

The town houses will be located on hospital owned property; the exact location is to be determined.  We plan to start that project in the Spring of 2027 and have it completed sometime in late 2027.

Both projects will improve our ability to recruit and retain medical professionals.  The RHC project will also greatly improve access to care for the community and greatly improve the working environment for our staff.

These are exciting times and we are profoundly grateful to Senator Collins for her strong support of both projects and for Senator King who also supported the RHC project.

Paul Canny, RN, and Brandis Townsend were chosen as Down East Community Hospital’s 2025 Employees of the Year! Brandis is our non-clinical Employee of the Year and Paul is our clinical Employee of the Year.  Paul works in our Lifespan Department on Med/Surg and OB5 and Brandis works in Patient Financial Services.

DECH staff nominated their peers for these awards by completing a form and providing information and specific details on why they should be employee of the year. Factors considered are dependability, initiative, attitude, and teamwork. Here are excerpts from Brandis and Paul’s nomination forms:

“Paul Canny, RN consistently provides excellent care to his patients. The time he devotes to them and his attention to their needs are truly admirable. He shows a strong eagerness to learn and has become one of our most skilled OB-trained nurses. Paul has supported his coworkers countless times, willingly comes in for any shift—day or night—often with little notice. We could not ask for more in a colleague.

Over a year ago, my mother was hospitalized, and Paul was absolutely wonderful. He was caring, compassionate, and incredibly kind to her.

He also looked after my father, who stayed at her bedside, making sure he was doing okay as well. I was so impressed and grateful that he was caring for my parents. He exemplifies everything a great nurse should be—fully dedicated to patient care.”

“Brandis Townsend is an exceptional employee whose dedication, professionalism, and proactive approach make a profound impact on her department and the hospital as a whole. She continuously looks for ways to improve workflows. Her ability to recognize opportunities for improvement—and quickly develop practical solutions—has saved time, reduced errors, and strengthened our processes.  Her reliability is unmatched.

Brandis is also the first to offer help when other departments are short-staffed. She willingly takes on additional responsibilities in Registration, the Café, and Patient Access without complaint, treating the organization as one cohesive team. She supports coworkers with kindness and fairness, holding people accountable while creating an environment where mistakes become opportunities for growth.

Brandis is a hardworking team player, a proactive problem-solver, and a compassionate supervisor. She has also organized many community benefit events such as donations for the giving tree, school supplies drive and the campus clean up.

The full list of nominees included Paige Preston, Chelsea Stanley, Bonnie Pineo, Crystal Richard, Monique Prescott, Robin Mollica, Susan Tinker, Sherry Murphy, Donna Barrett, Alissa Abner, Ashley Marzoll, Jody Cline, Gwenith Hatt, Dawn Woodward, Shelly Roberts, and Ber Terry.

Congratulations to both of our winners and all our nominees. Thank you for the great jobs you do every day and the special way you care for our patients and your co-workers!

Machias and Calais – Down East and Calais Community Hospital CEO, Steve Lail, presents Machias Area Food Pantry volunteers Nancy Lewis and Ken Warner with a check for $5,000.00 for the pantry, DECH’s most recent gift this year to this very worthy cause.  Steve also presented a check for $5,000 to the Irene Chadbourne Ecumenical Food Pantry in Calais.  On hand to accept the donation were volunteers (l to r) Sharon Waycott, Vicki McVicar and Phil McVicar along with Pantry President Dawn Noonan and CEO Steve Lail.

CEO, Steve Lail, “We have given to the Machias Area Food Pantry, Irene Chadbourne Ecumenical Food Pantry, and others in the past because these pantries provide an invaluable service to the community.  The need is always there, and DECH/CCH will continue to do what we can to help those who are food insecure.”

Machias – At Down East Community Hospital in Machias, staff and patients alike are thankful for the new blanket warmer that was purchased with funds donated by the DECH Auxiliary.

The DECH Auxiliary donated over $7,000 to purchase a 2-tier blanket warmer for the Emergency Department.  The Auxiliary chose the Emergency Department for their quarterly department donation of $1,000 but when they found out the ED needed a blanket warmer an Auxilian, who wishes to remain anonymous, stepped in and donated the additional funds needed for the purchase.  ED Manager, Tiffany Snider, “I was stunned at the generosity and am so very happy the ED now has a new blanket warmer that will help fulfill the comfort and therapeutic needs of our patients.”

CEO Steve Lail, “The Auxiliary has done so much for the hospital for so many years, and this is another fine example of their heart felt dedication and generosity. We are forever thankful for all they do.”

Be sure not to miss the Auxiliary’s 51st Holiday Craft Fair at the Rose M. Gaffney gymnasium on December 6 from 9am to 2pm. There will be over 50 craft vendors, door prizes, raffles, Christmas music, and great snacks and lunches to purchase.  Santa and Mrs. Clause will make a visit again this year too!   Not only will you find great gifts for Christmas, but you will also have the chance to say hello to some of the Auxilians and thank them for all the wonderful things they do for the community.

Machias and Calais – When Down East Community Hospital and Calais Community Hospital’s Certified Clinical Medical Assistant In-Training (CCMAIT) program launched earlier this year, five individuals stepped forward with different backgrounds, experiences, and dreams. Nine weeks later, they walked out not just with new skills, but with a new future in healthcare.  We are thrilled to celebrate their achievement and excited to announce that all five graduates are now working as Certified Medical Assistants across our community.

We are proud to share the success of the very first CCMAIT Program at Down East Community Hospital.  After months of dedicated work, all five students successfully completed the program. The students progressed at their own pace, testing for certification anywhere between week 7 and week 9. Each left with a nationally recognized certification from the National Health Career Association.

Program Highlights

On the first day of training, the students become employees of DECH/CCH which means they are paid an hourly rate and are eligible for full health, dental, and vision benefits.  They also begin accruing time off.  Each student signs an agreement to be employed by us for at least 2 years which is crucial to the program’s success.  Everyone is fully employed for the duration of the program and, upon successful completion of the program, are placed in one of our practices.

The CCMAIT curriculum was demanding: nine to twelve weeks of classroom learning and clinical practice covering medical ethics, administrative functions, communication skills, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, and hands-on clinical training.

Over the course of the program are classroom lectures, combined with online learning and hands-on clinical practice, the students gained strong foundations in:

• Medical Ethics and Legal Fundamentals
• Administrative Functions
• Professionalism and Communication Skills
• Clinical Skills
• Medical Terminology, Anatomy, and Physiology

The 5 graduates came from across the county and from many different backgrounds; one was a former CNA, one a pharmacy technician, a veterinary technician, a seafood worker, and a food services worker.  Now, all are CCMAs and are working at Baileyville Medical Center, Down East Health Center and Arnold Memorial Medical Center.

 From seasoned professionals building on their foundation, to brand-new learners proving what’s possible, this first CCMAIT cohort shows what happens when opportunity meets commitment. The success of this first cohort demonstrates the power of education, mentorship, and opportunity. We are proud of these graduates and look forward to seeing their continued impact on the patients and communities we serve.

This is not just the story of five students — it’s the story of what’s possible for our workforce and our patients when we invest in education and growth.  We have already started taking applications for our next class which will begin on November 3.

Machias – Bonnie Ellen (Bassett) Healy of Whiting leaves $207,716 of her estate to Down East Community Hospital.

CEO, Steve Lail, on the donation, “We are very appreciative and humbled to receive this very generous donation from Bonnie Healy.  It is coming at a time when hospitals are experiencing challenging changes in state and federal reimbursements.  This donation will help us to continue our mission to improve healthcare for those in Sunrise County.  I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Mrs. Healy but am so grateful she thought of us and the healthcare of the people in this county.”

Bonnie, who chose to spend her later years in Washington County with her husband, was originally from Massachusetts.  Bonnie was born in Brockton Mass and raised in Easton.  She graduated from Oliver Ames High School in North Easton and went on to graduate from Framingham State University.  She began her career as a Home Economics teacher and a few years later decided to open a fabric and yarn shop in Cape Cod.  She knitted many beautiful sweaters and displayed them in her shop so her customers could see the yarn in a finished product.

Bonnie married the love of her life, Leonard Gordon Healy, Jr.  They had 49 years of adventure before Len passed away in 2022.  In the early 1990s Bonnie and Len moved from the Cape to Downeast Maine where they established the Moon River Press where they republished the 1880s New England County Atlases and a series of lithographs.  During this time, Bonnie found her passion for researching family histories and became well-known for her genealogical research, especially with families of the town of Trescott.  Bonnie was also active in numerous other local historical societies and focused on documenting the lives of the town’s historical members.  Bonnie and Len were the founding members of the Trescott Historical Society, spearheading trips to local cemeteries to document and map.  They also organized public speakers to keep locals informed on important topics and wrapped up each year with an annual picnic at Quoddy Head State Park.

Machias – Down East Community Hospital is happy to announce that we have installed a new GE state-of-the-art Revolution Ascend CT scanner.

This project started in December of 2024 by researching different brands of scanners that would best fit our Imaging Department’s needs, and which brand would provide the high quality of imaging we have grown to expect for our patients. Imaging fully researched different CT scanners  then visited a GE facility in Milwaukee in January to see what they had to offer.

We were looking for some key improvements to what we currently had in a scanner and ultimately GE won without question as they recently had some significant changes to their platform, image quality, decrease dose to the patient, size of the bore, and increase table length.

Some key features we would like to share:

• We are the first in the State of Maine to implement the True Enhance DL software. This software is exciting for us as it provides improved visual contrast in all IV contrast administered studies, increasing clear visualization of contrast enhancement in vessels and masses without increasing the dose of IV contrast.
• We went from a 70cm bore, to a 75cm bore, allowing for more room as patients go in and out of the scanner.
• Our allowable table weight has increased from 350lbs- 680lbs. For us, the biggest reason we chose the bariatric table is to help assist optimal imaging for those patients who fell close to the 350-weight range. This increased weight limit should scan those patients with ease and with improved quality imaging.
• We have increased the scannable range with our new scanner, allowing for ease of scanning Run off exams, and tall patients.
• We have added a positioning camera which will auto prescribe the appropriate dose from the scout perfectly. This will help aid in overall decrease dose to the patient.
• We have added MAR to this scanner which stands for Metal Artifact Reduction. If a patient has a metal implant, we apply this software to the image and it reduces the scatter typically created, allowing the Radiologist to visualize around the surgical site.

Our staff from several departments worked hard to make some necessary changes to the CT suite by expanding it to allow for a longer table, additional room to bring a stretcher in with ease, increased room for the technologists to work, and a bigger control room allowing for an improved workflow. We were able to expand the overall room by moving our Ultrasound Room to what used to be the Quiet Room, making a great space for our Ultrasound patients as well.

Machias and Calais – Down East Community Hospital and Calais Community Hospital held its annual meeting of the Corporators on Wednesday, June 11.  CEO, Steve Lail, reported the financial health of both hospitals as well as accomplishments, recruitment, and community outreach.  Mr. Lail reported that Calais Community Hospital ended the year with a gain of $733,011 and that Down East Community Hospital ended with a gain of $4,277,557.  You can find more detailed information in the 2024 Annual Report which is available on the DECH and CCH websites.

Board Chair, Jacqueline O’Clair, provided a message from the board and thanked the Administration, staff, and Trustees for their hard work.  She welcomed new Board Member Megan Walsh, and new Corporator, Sharon Hext.  She also paid tribute to Mike Hennessey and Corey Schwinn who termed off the Board this year.

New Board Member, Megan Walsh, Ph.D., is the Dean and Campus Director of the University of Maine at Machias.  She holds a Ph.D. in English from Temple University and a B.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Her published research has been supported by: The McNeil Center of Early American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, The Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature, and Culture at the University Virginia, and the Harry Ransom Center at University of Texas at Austin.

New Corporator, Sharon Hext, worked for Down East Community Hospital as the Volunteer Coordinator for many years and currently serves as a volunteer at DECH.  She has served as a volunteer for other organizations as well such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Rapid Response, Hospice, Make-A-Wish, and Sawyer Memorial Congregational Church.

Mike Hennessey and Corey Schwinn have completed their terms on the Board, and we are grateful for the many years they dedicated to the Board and our organization.  Mike has served on the Board of Trustees for thirteen years.  He has held positions of Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Chair, Finance Committee Chair and served on the Compliance, Governance, and Executive Committees.  Mike, who resides with his family in Northfield, is a partner/producer at Varney Agency in Machias.  Corey Schwinn has served on the Board for nine years.  He has served on the Governance Committee and was Compliance Chair for many of those years.  He currently works as the Clinical Director for Sunrise Opportunities and resides in Marshfield with his family.

This year we had two physicians, who played important roles in the community, pass away.  CEO, Steve Lail, on the passing of Dr. Rathod and Dr. Gaddis, “Dr. Rathod was a urologist at DECH for twelve plus years. He was such a warm and nice man who always had interesting stories to tell.  We missed him when he retired and were saddened to hear of his passing. We also lost Dr. John Gaddis.  Dr. Gaddis had served several roles inside and outside of the hospital over his long career of practicing in Washington County. He always attended the annual meeting every year and I enjoyed catching up with him and remember several stories he told me about being in the Merchant Marines during the Vietnam War. He was remembered during our Light a Life celebration in December and several staff related stories about him over the years. He was definitely a local institution and will be missed.”

Current members of the board are Jackie O’Clair, Chair, Judd Bragg, PharmD, Vice Chair, Nate Martell, Secretary, Ian Pratt, Treasurer, John Corrigan, Betty Marshall, Julie Jordan, Jody Dennison, Rita Ten, MD, Raymond Howard, MD, Megan Walsh, Dwight Perkins, and Steve Lail.

Machias – The first baby born at Down East Community Hospital in Machias for the new year arrived at 6:36pm on January 5.

Davis Joseph Green, the first child of Brenna Davis and Austin Green of Campobello was born on January 5^th at 6:36pm.  He weighed in at 9 pounds, 7 ounces. and a length of 21 ¾ inches.  Both parents said Dr. Inegbenijie, and the nurses were phenomenal, and they were very impressed by and happy to be at DECH.  As to what they had to say about Davis, “We are in love; he is just perfect”!

The New Year’s baby basket provided by the hospital was filled with items for the baby and gift cards for the parents.  Since Davis is a healthy, bundle of joy who has already outgrown newborn clothes, the parents are donating all of their newborn clothes and diapers to the hospital OB Department so they can be used by a family in need.

Join us in congratulating Brenna and Austin on the birth of their son!

Machias – Down East Community Hospital’s annual Light A Life Celebration will take place on Wednesday, December 11th at 4:30 pm.  This year’s celebration is in honor of Dr. John Gaddis.  We hope that you and your family can join us as we pay tribute to a man who gave so much to the community.

Our Light A Life celebration is a wonderful opportunity to honor the lives and memories of loved ones as well as a perfect opportunity to join your neighbors for some holiday cheer.  We enjoy creating an exciting program that allows individuals and families to experience fun holiday offerings and to share in the excitement of the season.

This year there will be a “Snowmen on Parade” theme. There will be holiday music provided by the RMG Chorus along with games, prizes and refreshments all aimed at giving a fun-filled holiday experience.  You can even have a chance to win a special snowman prize with your name being entered with each ornament you dedicate!

With a minimum donation of $10.00 you can dedicate holiday ornaments in memory of or in honor of loved ones.  The ornament, with your loved one’s name, will be placed on lit trees that will be on display throughout the main lobby of the hospital.   At the end of the evening, you can take your ornaments home with you to place on your own tree.