
Practices for Making the Most of Challenging Years
By Michael Stern For many of us, 2020 was one of the most challenging years of our lives. As we move through 2...

What Covid can teach us about global health and infectious disease
By Dr. Oren Gersten Infectious disease is at the forefront of people’s minds across the world. Specifica...

A Letter from Frontline Healthcare Workers
To our fellow Mainers: We are frontline healthcare workers. We are caring, hard-working professionals with fam...

Seasonal Affective Disorder: Know the symptoms and hope for treatment
Seasonal Affective Disorder By Emily Erickson, MD & Greg Bates, NP It’s that time of year when the days ar...

Celebrating Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month
Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month Originally published at www.crediblemind.com Since the publication in 1...

Sauna Use Decreases Heart Attacks
By Dr. Oren Gersten Part of the job of any primary care doctor is staying up to date on the latest medical res...

Holiday health tips set you on the right path
By Jodi Newcombe, MD The holidays are just around the corner. While things look differently due to the pandemi...

Health Insurance, What Is It Good For?
By Dr. Oren Gersten Insurance is a card in your pocket, health care is a relationship with a doctor you know a...

Can Positive Thinking Change Your Life?
By Michael Stern Regardless of your political orientation, it is likely that you’ve been having thoughts about...

Busting the myths of breast cancer screening
By Diane Stoller, MD, FACS Each October we observe breast cancer awareness month, which serves as a lifesaving...

Adaptability is Essential for Uncertain Times
ADAPTABILITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY By Michael Stern Like millions of parents around the countr...

How long has it been since your last health screening?
Provided by Northern Light Mercy Hospital For many, it’s been too long since their last health screening due t...

Empathy Across Differences in a Divided Time
What is Empathy? By Michael Stern Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, describes three types of e...

5 Evidence Based & Healthy Ways to Lower Your Stress
Stress & Health By Dr. Oren Gersten On July 14th twelve engaged citizens, a health coach, and a primary ca...

Safe Return To Business – Free Zoom Sessions
By Northern Light Mercy Hospital As we continue through this pandemic and all that it entails, we’ve heard fro...

The Healers: Who owns health care part 3
Who owns health care? Part 3: The Healers By Dr. Oren Gersten Ancient Healers Healing has always been a part o...

Emotional Intelligence, Ethical Leadership & Social Change
By Michael Stern DEVELOPING OUR ETHICAL MIND Howard Gardner, a developmental psychologist and professor at the...

Providing a Safe Return to Health Care
Content Provided by Northern Light Mercy Hospital At Northern Light Mercy Hospital, the health and safety of o...

The insurers and the large health systems
Who owns Health Care? Part 2: The insurers and the large health systems By Dr. Oren Gersten In a Capitalist so...

Coping with Uncertainty
By Michael Stern The challenging emotions that come along with deep uncertainty in times of transition are an...

Leveraging the power of telehealth to benefit the community
Submitted by Northern Light Mercy Hospital The pandemic has changed the way we humans connect....

The High Cost of Insulin – A Case Study
By Dr. Oren Gersten The Corona Virus is getting plenty of media attention these days, and rightly so. However,...

An Emotionally Intelligent Response to Crisis
By Michael Stern As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt lives, communities, and economies, the uncertai...

Providing our community care in new ways
By Michael Duffy, MD The COVID-19 pandemic is touching all of our lives in one way or another, and...

A Primary Care Perspective on COVID-19
By Dr. Oren Gersten It’s important not to understate the seriousness of the health crisis we are currently exp...

Soft Skills for Hard Times
By Michael Stern The coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption on a global scale. It is also af...

The Life-Changing Power of Emotional Intelligence
By Michael Stern What does it mean to live a good life? And how does one actually do it? As a teenager growing...

The Health Care Brain Trust
Who owns health care? Part 1: The health care brain trust By Dr. Oren Gersten Humans have always and will alwa...

Screening Saves Lives
Ana Torres’ decision to have her first colonoscopy three years ago may have saved her life. During the procedu...

Processed Foods and Health
Beyond 7 Minutes I trained as a Family Doctor so that I would be ready to help patients with any challenge. Th...

Rewriting Their Own Story
By Sister Mary George O’Toole and Sister Miriam Therese Callnan The opioid epidemic in Maine h...

The top 3 primary care impacts of 2019
By Dr. Oren Gersten Medicine is a constantly evolving field. We are always reviewing new research and re-revie...

Osteoporosis: When bones break easily
By Wesley P. Fairfield, MD, ECNU What is osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is a disorder that affects the bones, caus...

The twelve health gifts of Christmas
By Dr. Oren Gersten This time of year many people are thinking about giving. What could be a better gift than...

Living life well with pain is possible
By Dr. Stephen Hull, Northern Light Mercy Pain Management Are you living with severe pain or sufferi...

Stressful medical care and the nocebo effect
By Oren Gersten, M.D. Plenty of people have heard of the placebo effect. How many have heard of the nocebo eff...

Evaluating ear infections
By Amy Bates, MS, FNP-C A common reason younger patients are seen for an evaluation is for ear infections....

Building a health care system to be proud of
By Dr. Oren Gersten Medicare for all has become a household phrase. Depending on which side of the aisle one’s...

Breast Cancer Awareness: What’s in Your Gene Pool?
By Suzanne A. Hoekstra, MD, FACS The term “human genome” is used to describe all of the DNA contained in our b...

Advances in Medicine
By Dr. Oren Gersten The Cost of Cellular Therapies As a family doctor I try to stay up to date on the most rec...

Finding a Pediatric Provider
By Elena Bell Wagner, BSN, MSN, CPNP There are many reasons that you might be in the market for a pediatric pr...

How to make a stellar first aid kit
By Dr. Oren Gersten A first aid kit can come in handy on a hike or even just around town. A kit for the car an...

Trouble Sleeping – Tips to help anyone sleep better
By Emily Erickson, MD Trouble sleeping is incredibly common at any age. Does any of the following sound famili...

5 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Prescription Medications
By Dr. Oren Gersten Americans spend more on health care than any other nation. Consumers often feel powerless...

Testing your child’s hearing
By Hilary Maxim Audiologists are the ear doctors of the medical world. Through various tests, they can diagnos...

A Firsthand Perspective on Physician Burnout
By Oren Gersten Residency training is between three and seven years. All Resident Doctors carry a medical degr...

72,287 Reasons – The Harm Reduction Model
By Kelly F. Merrill The harm reduction movement is creating a buzz in Portland with its compassionate and evid...

Back pain? You’re not alone.
By Dr. Nick Arredondo According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, about 80 perce...

The Other Side of the Opioid Crisis
By Kelly F. Merrill Unintended Consequences Attempts to muscle the Opioid Crisis into submission have been a t...

Birth planning
By Dr. Kathryn Wadland These days we can plan almost anything, which is why the unpredictability of labor can...

Keeping a Spring in your Step
By Dr. Oren Gersten Maine is a great place to get outside. No matter what your activity inclination there is s...

Getting Help Faster
Rapid Access Treatment for opioid use disorder combines immediate withdrawal relief with a long-term plan for...

Do No (Financial) Harm
By Dr. Oren Gersten A doctor’s oath is first to do no harm. That has traditionally been interpreted to a...

How To Beat Flu Season
By Dr. Oren Gersten I trained as a Family Doctor so that I would be ready to help patients with any challenge....

We’re facing a crisis of trauma and painful loneliness
Every Month Peloton Labs founder Liz Trice interviews a Peloton member for the West End News. This month Liz c...

Screening Saves Lives
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month By Dr. Chris Kleeman Colon cancer is the third most common cancer a...

15 Ways to Stay Safe During Winter Storms
The American Red Cross provides readers with 15 steps you can take to stay safe with the cold, snow, and ice....

Staying Heart Healthy
By Dr. Craig Brett February is American Heart Month, which was first recognized by presidential proclamat...

The transformation of orthopedics
By Todd Cronin The time it takes to recover from joint surgery has improved in recent years, and that’s great...

What it means to be a ‘Patient Centered Medical Home’
By Su-Anne Hammond, DO Patients are at the center of my primary care practice, and that’s how it should always...

Holiday Traditions at Every Age
By Lori Maxwell, Seventy-Five State Street Administrator It’s the holiday season, complete with snow on the gr...

30 Years of McAuley Residence
A Saving Grace for Women in Recovery By Melissa Skahan Substance Use Disorder is a crisis that affects all of...

Technology and Elder Care
By Kathy Hegarty, Clinical Manager & EMR Specialist Many types of technology are changing rapidly. It’s no...

Changing seasons can bring skin challenges
By Claudia Heise, MD The changing of seasons brings with it a dazzling array of fall colors, the sounds of chi...

Helper’s High and Giver’s Glow
The Health Benefits of Being Kind By Gwen Fraser, Administrative Assistant, Seventy-Five State Street From per...

Exercise: Great Medicine for Everyone
By Dr. John Devlin We all know that regular exercise is good for our health. It can lower our risk for many me...

Safety First
By Shawn Thoits – Maintenance Foreman The word “safety” can have a different connotation for different a...

A vaccine that prevents cancer
By Christopher Pezzullo, DO The human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cancer and is a common infection. In fact...

The Importance of Community for Older Adults
By Claudia Monsell, LSW at Seventy-Five State Street It’s no secret that feeling lonely is unpleasant. As huma...

Full Spectrum Sun Protection
By Kelly Bechtel, Nursing Care Manager at Seventy-Five State Street Health Benefits of Summer Sunshine Enjoyin...

The fear of ticks – Some helpful advice so you don’t have to panic!
By Sara Whelan Entomophobia is the term used to describe the fear of insects. While Maine has its share of bug...

1918-2018: A Century of Mercy
By Charlie Therrien While hospitals and providers are always innovating and looking ahead to the next cure and...

Financial Planning: 5 Tips for Older Adults
By Michele Reitan, Business Office Manager Retirement is an exciting next chapter of our lives, full of...

The Wonders of Gardening
By Lynn Larochelle, Facilities Director The sensory appeal of having a garden is unquestioned: smelling the co...

Mercy Celebrates National Nurses Week
Looking ahead to the next 100 years of nursing at Mercy Hospital By Bette Neville, MSN, RNC As we celebrate Na...

Wellness Bowl, by Bowl – Feat. A Healthy Minestrone Soup Recipe
By Cory Michaud, Seventy-Five State Street Executive Chef Spring is arriving, but we still have some chilly da...

Stress! Some helpful advice on how to deal
Stressed out? Don’t ignore it. By Dr. Erin Piontek Stress is a normal part of life, but it can be a serious is...

Universal Benefits of Respite Care
Respite Care: A Home Away from Home By Jess Duffy, Seventy-Five State Street Nursing Director The Merriam Webs...

Holistic Wellness: Life at its Fullest
By Brianna Alvarado, CTRS Activity Coordinator When we think of ‘being healthy’ we generally think of diet, ex...

The best screening test is the one that gets done
By Dr. Karin Cole More than 50,000 Americans die each year from colorectal cancer. Fortunately, the disease is...

Views from 75 State Street
Views from 75 State Street by Lauren Webster, Marketing and Admissions Director From almost every window of Se...

Shoveling snow doesn’t have to hurt
Tips for shoveling snow By Dr. Nicolas F. Arredondo Winter can make maneuvering on our roads and sidewalks cha...

Urgent Care or Emergency Room?
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Beyond 7 Minutes I trained as a Family Doctor so that I would be ready to help patients with any challenge. The old school family doc used to take that skill set out into the community on ho... Read more
By Sister Mary George O’Toole and Sister Miriam Therese Callnan The opioid epidemic in Maine has impacted thousands of lives, torn apart families, and overwhelmed our cities... Read more
By Dr. Oren Gersten Medicine is a constantly evolving field. We are always reviewing new research and re-reviewing old research in order to find the best path to health. What was once gospel... Read more
By Wesley P. Fairfield, MD, ECNU What is osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is a disorder that affects the bones, causing weakness with increased risk of fracture (broken bones). The inside of norma... Read more
By Dr. Oren Gersten This time of year many people are thinking about giving. What could be a better gift than something that promotes good health? Whether given to yourself or someone you ca... Read more
By Dr. Stephen Hull, Northern Light Mercy Pain Management Are you living with severe pain or suffering due to ineffective approaches that haven’t worked? Don’t get frustrated or al... Read more
By Oren Gersten, M.D. Plenty of people have heard of the placebo effect. How many have heard of the nocebo effect? The dictionary defines nocebo as a detrimental effect on health produced by... Read more
By Amy Bates, MS, FNP-C A common reason younger patients are seen for an evaluation is for ear infections. Symptoms of an ear infection may include fever, pulling on the ear, fussiness,... Read more
By Dr. Oren Gersten Medicare for all has become a household phrase. Depending on which side of the aisle one’s political persuasions fall, hearing it will likely draw praise or scorn. Like s... Read more
By Suzanne A. Hoekstra, MD, FACS The term “human genome” is used to describe all of the DNA contained in our body’s cells, and a significant amount of scientific research to map it began in... Read more
A physician perspective on health equity
HEALTH CARE COMMENTARY A physician perspective on health equity By Dr. Oren Gersten Equity means considering f...