In a deal announced recently by Maine Governor Angus King '66, Dartmouth Medical School will enter into a long-term partnership with a Maine state psychiatric hospital.
According to the deal, DMS will work to hire psychiatrists for AMHI, and the hospital will have access to College resources. AMHI also hopes to be involved in research programs with DMS and to eventually become a teaching hospital with residents, which would benefit both parties. In exchange, the College will be paid for the service it provides.
"We will hire physicians, and we will pay the salaries and bills," said Adam Keller, associate dean of Dartmouth's medical school. Keller noted that "those costs are built right into the contract with the state of Maine" and will be reimbursed to the College.
No profit for the College is involved in the deal, Keller said. Instead, DMS will send "medical students in residence to that site in Maine, so there is some teaching. That is definitely a benefit for us," he said.
The arrangement with Maine is very similar to the one the College has had with New Hampshire for over a decade, Keller said.
Dartmouth Medical School has hired the physicians and other staff at New Hampshire Hospital in Concord in exchange for similar benefits for the school.
"We think the model we've established in New Hampshire is really exemplary," Keller said.
Having a Dartmouth residency program would be "a huge asset for the community," AMHI superintendent Lisa Kavanaugh said.
"Dartmouth and its program and its relationship with the New Hampshire Hospital made it the best bet for us."
After meeting with the directors of New Hampshire Hospital, officials at AMHI approached Dr. Peter Silberfarb, chair of the Medical School's Department of Psychology, about creating a similar program.
Located in Augusta, AMHI is one of two public mental health hospitals in Maine. With 103 beds, the facility also maintains two outpatient facilities in Augusta and Portland.
Maine health officials have tried for years to reform the hospital. Stemming from what Kavanaugh called "some patient deaths and some concerns about conditions," a court-appointed supervisor began to oversee reforms to the staff and physical plant in 1989.
On Jan. 25, AMHI filed to have the court supervision removed, claiming that the stipulations had been met.
King announced the agreement, which went into effect on Jan.1 and runs through June 2003, and the hospital's success with its reforms during his State of the State address.
Tony Sprague, Gov. King's communications director, said that the state health leaders, including current commissioner Lynn Duby, "have created a very good community-based system."
"The agreement between AMHI and Dartmouth medical school is a good sign, a great sign that the state is on the right track when it comes to mental health," Sprague added.
"Initially the costs are quite modest, under $200,000 per year," Kavanaugh said.
She expects annual costs to eventually rise to roughly $2 million as the College hires more of the staff. The state of Maine, which runs the facility, will cover all the costs.
Work at the Augusta site will not begin immediately since doctors hired by the previous contractor will remain on the job until they decide to leave, Keller said.
