SMMC + PrimeCare = SMMC PrimeCare
October 01, 2008

Southern Maine Medical Center and PrimeCare Physician Associates announced today that they have joined together to form Southern Maine Medical Center (SMMC) PrimeCare Physicians, a multi-specialty medical group division of Southern Maine Medical Center. The result is among the largest healthcare organizations in Maine, bringing together over 40 primary care physicians and specialists located in Biddeford, Saco, Kennebunk, Old Orchard Beach and Sanford, and York County’s largest medical center, with outpatient diagnostic and therapy centers located with physician office buildings in Kennebunk, Saco, Old Orchard Beach and Biddeford.

The agreement between these the two healthcare providers breaks new ground, ensuring significant physician involvement in the governance and operations of Southern Maine Medical Center’s comprehensive health care delivery system.

“Physicians are essential members of the patient care team, and we are excited to have them filling important roles on our Board of Directors and senior management team,” Ed McGeachey, president and CEO of SMMC, stated. “Bringing physicians directly into the planning process, having them work together with nurses and other caregivers as a team, makes all the sense in the world. Healthcare is way too complex and expensive today to be delivering care in silos. Working together we can provide the best of care, expand physician access to more people, and control costs by avoiding unnecessary duplications of expensive technology and services. The people of York County will all benefit.”

Southern Maine Medical Center now employs over 75 physicians, encompassing Family Practice and Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Cardiology, Neurology, Surgery, Pediatrics, Pulmonology, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, Emergency Care Medicine, Psychiatry, and Hospitalists. Over 100 additional physicians are members of SMMC’s medical staff, providing inpatient, diagnostic, and therapy care through the medical center. The medical center is one of the economic drivers in York County, with over 1,400 employees and annual budget of over $130 million. It recently opened the state’s newest emergency center, the Dorothy Walker Bush Pavilion.

Dr. Leslie Tripp, president of PrimeCare Physician Associates, pointed out that both organizations share a common focus on quality patient care. “PrimeCare has received the highest possible rating for quality from the Maine Health Management Coalition for four consecutive years,” he noted, “and Southern Maine Medical Center has been named by AVATAR as one of the “Top 10 Hospitals in the Nation for Overall Patient Satisfaction” for the past three years. We come together with a proven track record of quality care, and we will build upon that moving forward.”


“The signs were changed today to reflect the new name and logo, but PrimeCare patients will continue to be seen by their favorite physician at the same office location, with the same telephone number, with the same familiar faces in the office to greet them,” McGeachey said. “The only difference is that now their care is backed by the full services and resources of one of Maine’s leading medical centers.”