VNA HOME HEALTH AND HOSPICE
50 Foden Road, South Portland, ME 04106 www.northernlighthealth.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: VNA Home Health & Hospice d/b/a Northern Light Home Care & Hospice provides clinically excellent, compassionate home health and hospice care to individuals and families

Providing clinically excellent, compassionate home health and hospice care to individuals and familiesPlease see the following excerpt from the Northern Light Health Annual Report 2019 to the Community for details of community benefit projects at NLH members:Were making healthcare work for you.We are ChangemakersAll around us in todays world are people who challenge the status quo and aim to do more. History remembers those who have created changes that make our world a better place. Where would we be today if Alexander Graham Bell hadnt invented the telephone? Or, Thomas Edison didnt find a way to harness electricity to make light? Or, Marie Curie didnt discover the radioactive compounds that would lead to the use of radiation therapy to treat cancer? Of course, not all change is so grand, and not all changemakers are so iconic, but even small changes over time make a big difference. Here at Northern Light Health, among our thousands of dedicated employees, valued patients, generous donors, and committed community partners, we are grateful to have changemakers who work every day to improve the lives of people across our great state. In our 2019 Annual Report, we will introduce you to some of these changemakers. They are improving their communities, their workplaces, and themselves. They are finding better ways to treat people with Alzheimers disease. They are taking on extraordinary physical challenges to further cancer research. And, they are looking to make meaningful changes to how patients are cared for during their stays in our hospitals and healthcare facilities. At Northern Light Health, our purpose is to make healthcare work for you, and one way that we are doing that is by raising quality through innovation, teamwork, and efficiency. You will see examples of this throughout the pages of this years report. I am truly inspired by the great work that is happening here, and I know you will be inspired too. Sincerely, M. Michelle Hood, FACHE President and CEO, Northern Light HealthOrdinarily, Michelle and I co-author the introductory letter to our annual report, but this year, I felt it was important to add a few additional thoughts of my own. This will be the final annual report of Michelles 14-year tenure with Northern Light Health as she is moving on to an exciting new opportunity with the American Hospital Association to serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer. I think it is fitting that the theme of this years report is changemakers because Michelle has been a positive agent of change for our healthcare system. During her time as CEO, Northern Light Health has grown from a loosely organized confederation of hospitals to an integrated healthcare system that is poised to serve people across Maine for generations to come. I speak on behalf of our Board of Directors when I congratulate Michelle on her exciting new opportunity. She can feel proud of all that she has accomplished for Northern Light Health and the people of Maine. Sincerely,Barry McCrum Northern Light Health, Board Chair

We are HopefulWhen Memory Fades: Northern Light Alzheimers Research Program As Bill Doak runs a wooden board under a scroll saw in the woodworking shop behind his home, he pushes too hard, the board jumps, and the saw blade breaks. Bills wife, Nina, is standing nearby with a nervous look. Theres sawdust on the floor and projects in various stages of production and repair, including a chest of drawers. Bill has made thousands of dovetail joints but when he started this project for his grandson, he couldnt remember how to make a dovetail joint, explains Nina. Instead, Bill is fastening the drawers together with screws. For Nina, its a good sign that Bill is still problem-solving, but this scenario is just one of the many new realities they are learning to deal with since Bill has been living with Alzheimers disease. I built several boats over the years, and Ive built many pieces of furniture. The work gave me a sense of comfort, explains Bill, And, now, not so much. It takes a lot of time. Bill takes long walks on the roads near his coastal home in Surry, reads books, and solves crossword puzzles. He does these things to keep both his mind and body fit. As shes done for 40 years Nina is at his side supporting him. As the disease progresses, so does her worry. She and Bill cared for Bills parents, who both had Alzheimers disease. Bill is a very bright man who has held important administrative positions at the National Institutes of Health. He was great with numbers, and thats not there anymore, says Nina, Bill says that Im angry. Yes, I am angry, but not at him. This disease is slowly taking away my best friend. Bill is doing all he can to slow the diseases progression. He is part of a clinical research trial offered through Northern Light Acadia Hospitals Mood and Memory Clinic, in which he is a patient of Clifford Singer, MD, chief of Geriatrics and principal investigator for Northern Lights Alzheimers Disease Research Program. Acadia Hospital, together with the University of California San Diego and the National Institute on Aging is testing a drug currently used to treat ALS to see if it slows Alzheimers disease. Bill is part of that trial. There is a critical public health need. Because of our aging society, there is a doubling of the numbers of people with Alzheimers disease nationally and in Maine. The best hope we have of coping is to either prevent or at least slow the disease down, Dr. Singer explains. Northern Light Acadia Hospital is also partnering with Jackson Laboratory, a world-class genetics research institute. The hospital has clinicians and access to potential research study participants while Jackson Laboratory has state-of-the-art genetics laboratories, grant writing expertise, and researchers. Gareth Howell, PhD, associate professor at Jackson Laboratory, and his team of researchers are studying the effects of Alzheimers disease on mice at the genetic level. Dr. Howell says collaborating with a clinician with a national reputation such as Dr. Singer allows them to not only enhance research but also attract grants. Our partnership with Dr. Singer allows us to go backward and forward between human patients and mouse models. You can understand more about the disease in the mouse if you have mouse models that look like the human condition. And so, there are benefits of having a close partnership with somebody studying the disease in humans, Dr. Howell explains. Northern Light Acadia Hospital also collaborates with the University of Maine and Activas Diagnostics, an Orono-based company, co-founded by Marie Hayes, PhD. Dr. Hayes is the principal investigator and project director for an NIH grant-funded research project. She was instrumental in securing a $1 million grant to develop and test technology that allows researchers to study sleeping patterns on a group of 120 study participants at their homes. What if disruption of sleep is the earliest signs of neurodegenerationnot just Alzheimers disease, but Parkinsons disease and other kinds of diseases associated with sleep disorders? asks Dr. Hayes, Early detection is the secret to treatment thats successful.Ali Abedi, PhD, UMaine professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his team are collaborating with Activas, of which he is also co-founder, to help develop and test the home-based sleep diagnostics technology that Dr. Hayes and he patented. They created a prototype sleep monitoring device that looks like a mattress pad, but it has 32 sensors that can measure respiration and movement during sleep. And its much easier to operate because its in peoples homes. Its not invasive; its in your own comfortable home. The idea is we create sets of signals that indirectly measure whats going on inside your brain in terms of cognitive impairment, explains Dr. Abedi. Whether its studying sleep patterns, conducting genetic research on mice, or attracting human clinical trials to Maine, the best and brightest research, engineering, and clinical minds in Maine are coming together to find a cure for a brain disease that is affecting Bill Doak and many thousands of other people in Maine. I hope there can be a pill that would stop the progression and, if possible, help me gain back some of the things that Ive lost, thats what I hope, explains Bill, I also hope the clinical trials Im involved in can help find a cure for future generations. *Northern Light Acadia is also exploring opportunities to collaborate with Massachusetts General Hospital on Alzheimers Research.Want to learn more about what we do? MAINAH (Maine Initiative for Neurologic Aging and Health) offers healthy brain aging tips. You can sign up for our newsletter or join a study. Visit https://northernlighthealth.org/Acadia/HealthyBrainAging

We are MotivatedThe Heart of a Friar: Northern Light Cardiovascular Care As the sun rises over the Franciscan Friars monastery on Orcutt Mountain on a warm summer morning, Brother Donald Paul is already heading into a small clapboard outbuilding that houses the friars microbrewery. Hes carrying a bag of barley malt on his shoulder and is dressed in a brown robe and sandals. Between his pastoral duties, his beer brewing operation, and the friars waterfront restaurant in Bucksport, this 61-year-old friar is always on the go. A typical day starts with morning prayers at 6 am, followed by hours baking breads, making soups, and preparing special items for the restaurant. Hes at the restaurant until 7 pm and wraps up with evening prayers at 9 pm. Then, about a year ago, he started slowing down, It was progressive. Id come home from work and have swelling in my ankles or my hands were sore, and Id write it off to the fact Id been on my feet all day, or that Ive been a baker for 40 years, explains Brother Don. Then, one weekend last winter, he developed flu-like symptoms. Fellow friar, Brother Kenneth Leo, took him to the emergency department at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center. Much to his surprise, Brother Don learned hed had a heart attack. Following emergency room treatment, he met the Northern Light Cardiovascular Care team, including cardiologist, Matthew McKay, MD. Dr. McKay came in with a sketch of my heart covered with pencil marks, and he said, Do you see those pencil marks? They represent blockages in your arteries. And, all four were blocked, recalls Brother Don. He needed quadruple bypass surgery.Next, Brother Don met David Pantino, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon. In walks this young man who looks like Tom Bradys younger brother, and I said, Youre not my surgeon! recalls Brother Don, I was taken aback by his youthful appearance, but that probably says more about my age than his. And he said, Well take good care of you, and he did take excellent care of me. As a cardiothoracic surgeon whos performed hundreds of surgeries, Dr. Pantino, is like the Tom Brady or quarterback of the surgery team, but he points out that many people play a role in caring for the patient. Its a multidisciplinary team that involves our cardiology colleagues and surgery team, as well as the emergency room and other physicians involved in his care, explains Dr. Pantino. Northern Light Cardiovascular Cares team approach naturally evolved as technology paved the way for newer, less invasive forms of cardiac surgery. Now instead of open-heart surgery, some patients could be candidates for minimally invasive surgeries involving catheter-based technology. The technology drove cooperation between cardiologists and heart surgeons to participate in shared decision making and have face-to-face time together with patients to help decide if they should be treated with open heart procedures or minimally invasive techniques, says Dr. McKay. The medical center acts as the hub of Northern Light Cardiovascular Care. Its physicians and surgeons have trained at the leading cardiac centers in the world and perform more than 220,000 cardiac procedures and tests each year. Northern Light Healths other acute care hospitals provide this same high standard of care for less intensive cardiology and support the smaller critical access hospitals in their region. Patients requiring heart surgery can seamlessly transition to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center and then return to their local hospitals for follow-up care. Brother Don is grateful for his care. One week after open-heart surgery, he was starting to walk. After three weeks, he was exercising on his treadmill. And after eight weeks, he was back at the restaurant. He also hopes to start competing in sprint triathlons again, a hobby he started when he turned 55. When it comes to recovery, its all about attitude. I got up every morning; I showered, I got dressed. I wanted to move; I didnt want to lie around in my bathrobe. So, I think it really is an attitude. Dr. Pantino eventually made a trip down to the Friars Taphouse restaurant to visit Brother Don and have a meal. Dr. Pantino shares, Its gratifying. Its good to see Brother Don get back to doing what he loves doing. For more information visit https://northernlighthealth.org/Services/Cardiovascular-Care

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