Life on a Tidal River

Text by The 7th Grade Maine Studies Students of the William S. Cohen School.
Images are from Eastern Maine Medical Center and St. Joseph Healthcare.

Eastern Maine Medical Center History

Beginnings

After the public discussed wanting a local hospital, a petition was started in 1891 to open up a hospital which would be called Bangor General Hospital. A public meeting was held to discuss opening the hospital. Many came to the meeting, and seventy people signed the petition, meaning that citizens were expecting a new hospital. The public was looking forward to having a local hospital for their medical needs.

On June 7, 1892 renovation was started on what is now the oldest building in EMMC, the Mace Building. The Mace Building was donated and was located at 489 State Street in Bangor Maine, at the foot of what is now Summit Avenue. Founded by William H. Simmons, William C. Mason, Walter H. Hunt, Everett T. Nealy, and William E. Baxter, the rather small building only consisted of an operating room and a few rooms in which to keep and treat patients. The original building was fairly small for a hospital and it is unbelievable to see how substantially it has grown into a major operation.

The first official name of the hospital was Bangor General Hospital, later being renamed Eastern Maine General Hospital. After the hospital became more popular throughout the years, it began accepting more patients and expanding. This explains why the name was changed from Eastern Maine General Hospital to Eastern Maine Medical Center. This shows how the small operation grew throughout the years to become a major addition to the city of Bangor. In fact, the hospital, at first, was mainly for treating physical problems and less for sicknesses and illnesses. The hospital’s popularity grew as people began to recognize more and more its success with treating an enormous amount of patients. The hospital was chartered by the Maine State Legislature in 1897.

Highlights

As time went on, Eastern Maine Medical Center continued to improve and grow. It started to become more popular as people realized how much of a help the doctors and nurses at the hospital could be to them and their community. It was actually the first general hospital in Bangor, Maine so it was a very important part of the city. More and more patients began turning to the hospital for advice and assistance. There were 50% more patients in 1901 than in 1900 at the hospital. This goes to show how successful the hospital was becoming.

But many people had predicted that the hospital would eventually get more business over time because of all the contagious diseases that were beginning to spread. Some examples of these diseases would be smallpox, yellow fever, and cholera. The hospital staff did their best to cure as many patients as possible, this led to even more publicity for the new hospital. It really started becoming popular in the early 1900s. People were impressed at how efficient the doctors were at caring for the patients no matter how many there were.

On many occasions the amount of patients outnumbered the staff at the hospital, but they still found a way to carry on. Amazingly, the hospital had treated over 150 patients within their first year of service. The doctors and nurses continued to impress as more patients were brought in but they still managed to cure a huge percentage of them. Some of the hospital’s more recent highlights include receiving an A in hospital safety from the Leapfrog Group, beginning the modernization project, and recruiting 21 new physicians to expand the amount of care they can supply. The modernization project is a large-scale construction project that is renovating and adding to the hospital. All of the highlights that this hospital has had in its past are what make it such an amazing addition to our community today.