Portland's Maine Medical Center, a major clinical and teaching affiliate of the University of Vermont College of Medicine, is the largest hospital in the state and a major referral center for northern New England. A 606-bed facility, it is an active research center as well as a teaching hospital. Every year, the hospital cares for more than 27,000 inpatients and more than 500,000 outpatients, and performs more than 16,000 surgeries. The hospital offers a full range of medical services and is widely known for its cardiac diagnostic and open-heart surgery programs, renal dialysis and kidney transplants, oncology, nuclear medicine, and rehabilitation. As of 2005, the hospital is embarking on an expansion project that will include a new obstetrics and newborn building, a parking garage, a helipad, and a central utility plant.
Mercy Hospital, a 177-bed community hospital, offers a complete range of diagnostic services and operates The Birthplace, the Recovery Center for recovering addicts, an inpatient Eating Disorders Program, an ambulatory care center, oncology centers, and a home care and hospice service. Mercy is a leader in Maine in orthopedic surgery, joint replacement surgery, and interventional procedures. Other facilities in Portland include New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland, an 82-bed facility specializing in physical rehabilitation; and Westbrook Community Hospital, specializing in treatment for alcoholism, drug abuse, and eating disorders. Greater Portland also supports a variety of the latest types of elderly housing and care centers, and along with traditional health care has a thriving community of healers and alternative-therapy specialists.
Health Care Information: Public Information Office, Maine Medical Center, 22 Bramhall Street, Portland, ME 04102; telephone (207)662-0111