A New Solution

Her alarm sounds at 5:30 in the morning, signaling the all too sudden start to another busy day. Like most single moms, Bre Erickson does a lot of juggling. Her first order of the day is motivating her sleepy six-year-old son, Owen, to get out of bed. Owen is an active boy with dirty blonde hair, deep brown eyes, and a heartwarming smile that his mom coaxes out of him as she stands behind him, squeezes him with a hug, and plants a kiss on his cheek.

“He likes to sleep in, so he’s a tough one to get going in the morning. We get ready, kennel the dogs, and head off to daycare or rec or whatever is on the agenda for the day. Then I go to work sometimes in Greenville, sometimes in Pittsfield,” explains Bre. She serves as communications manager for two Northern Light Health hospitals—CA Dean Hospital in Greenville and Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield. It’s a hectic balance, managing her career and her time with her son.

“Time with him is very important, and it’s limited because you’re working 40 hours a week and traveling a minimum of 50 miles a day on top of that.”



While Bre wants to take care of herself, she doesn’t want to sacrifice any more time with Owen. So, she is happy to have her medical needs met close to home. In addition to a primary care provider, she also has an OB/GYN physician who sees her in Greenville—Kyrsten Sutton, MD.

“When you live in rural Maine, you have to make some sacrifices, and it’s nice that these women don’t need to make sacrifices in their healthcare and can get quality healthcare close to home,” Dr. Sutton explains.

Dr. Sutton is an employee of Mayo Regional Hospital, but under a clinical affiliation agreement between Mayo and Northern Light Health, she travels to Northern Light Health Center in Greenville to see patients like Bre once a month. She also sees patients at the Northern Light Health Center in Sangerville once a month.

If not for this partnership between Mayo and CA Dean, many women from the Greenville and Sangerville areas of Piscataquis County would have to travel to Bangor or Pittsfield for their OB/GYN care. Megan Ryder, who is the practice director for the Northern Light Health Center, Greenville, says Mayo and Northern Light Health formed this partnership for the greater good of the people of Piscataquis County.

“We have the patients that needed that gynecology service, and we have space in this brand-new expansion in Sangerville and in our clinic in Greenville. Mayo had the gynecologist. So, just combining our resources made a great service line for both of our hospitals,” explains Megan.

Megan says CA Dean did need the proof that their alliance with Mayo would meet the need in a cost-effective way for both hospitals, so they turned to Beacon Health, the population health office of Northern Light Health.

The mission of Beacon Health is to analyze claims data and find ways to improve population health for the various regions of our state. “Patients in the Sangerville and Greenville areas sometimes travel up to 90 minutes each way to get this care and that’s a real burden for patients, especially in winter when they might have to make several visits in a short period of time. And if that means missing work, they might skip those appointments and not get the care they need, explains Will Seavery, PharmD, BCPS, associate vice president of Population Health for Beacon Health, adding that the data showed the need existed and the care could be provided if Northern Light Health could partner with Mayo.

Bre is grateful that the partnership is making healthcare work for not only her, but all her friends and neighbors in Greenville. Following a recent visit with Dr. Sutton, she was able to pick up Owen from daycare and head over to the playground at his school. She watched him navigate the maze of obstacles, slide down the slide and climb back up, and then she pushed him on the swings. As he laughed, Bre cracked a smile of her own from ear to ear—leaving no mystery as to where Owen gets his heartwarming smile.

“It’s so important to have healthcare close to home because it’s not only difficult for me to take time from my work schedule but time away from my son. So, if you don’t have healthcare here in this area, you can lose an entire day once you figure in a couple of hours of travel and the time of the appointment,” Bre says, “And I feel like Northern Light Health really gets that.”