Dr. Steven Hess Named Chief Medical Officer at Martin's Point Health Care

New stand-alone position tied to major growth at Martin's Point

PORTLAND, Maine - Dr. Steven A. Hess, M.D., has been named chief medical officer at Martin's Point Health Care, the state's largest not-for-profit health care provider.

Hess, a former executive at Mercy Health System of Maine, will oversee and manage all medical services provided through Martin's Point, which serves more than 54,000 patients at locations in Portland, Brunswick and Windham, Maine, and in Portsmouth, N.H. He takes over one of the two leadership roles held by Dr. David Howes, M.D., who will continue to serve as president of Martin's Point.

"Steve Hess brings passion, energy and a wealth of experience to this crucial, newly defined position," Howes said. "His clinical expertise and strong administrative background will help ensure that we continue to foster a culture of productivity, excellence and innovation in all areas of our health-care delivery system, through both our clinical and non-clinical staff."

Howes stressed that the stand-alone CMO role is a direct response to significant growth at Martin's Point, which has seen patient visits jump from about 90,000 in 1997 to nearly 160,000 this year.

"Martin's Point was founded by physicians more than 20 years ago, and our by-laws still require that both the company president and board chair be physicians," Howes said. "Steve's position puts another physician in a senior management role, allowing me to stay focused on broader strategic and organizational challenges."

Hess most recently spent six years as executive vice president of Portland-based Mercy Health System of Maine, which consists of Mercy Hospital, a network of ambulatory sites, a home-care company, physician practices and a service bureau. For the past four years, he also served as president and CEO of Mercy Primary Care Center, a 28-physician multi-specialty group with six clinical sites. From 1993-97, he served as vice president of medical affairs for Mercy Hospital, a 230-bed community hospital in Portland. In addition, he has worked as a physician specializing in pulmonary care in both Portland and Chicago.

Licensed in Maine, Hess is certified by the American Board of Pulmonary Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine and the National Board of Medical Examiners. He received an MBA in 1995 at Boston University, and is a graduate of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, the University of Louisville in Kentucky and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

A resident of Falmouth, Hess has served on the boards of a number of professional and community organizations, including Youth Alternatives, Maine Comprehensive Cancer Care, the Geriatric Resource Network and the Cumberland County Child Abuse and Neglect Council. He also is a member of the Physician Leadership Council for Catholic Health East and has served on the executive committee for the Maine Health Management Coalition.

Established in 1981, Martin's Point is a not-for-profit health care provider with facilities in Portland, Brunswick and Windham, Maine, and in Portsmouth, N.H. Martin's Point has a staff of more than 300 health care professionals and serves 54,000 patients - including military retirees and dependents of active military personnel - under all major health plans.

Martin's Point serves patients in the areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, cardiology, and mammography, as well as other fields. For additional information, visit online at www.martinspoint.org.


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