New Medical Office Building - Project Abstract Summary Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-26-107 Assistance Listing Number: 93.493 Applicant Name: Pines Health Services Descriptive Title of Applicants Project: CHARM: Comprehensive Health Approach to Rural Medicine This project abstract is for new construction of a 13,600 square foot stand-alone medical office building for Pines Health Services, located at 163 Van Buren Road on the Cary Medical Center campus. This project will streamline access to care for Pines Health Services patients by locating its largest Caribou Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) adjacent to other Pines locations, including Women’s & Children’s Health, Pines Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Jefferson Cary Cancer Center, Pines Surgical Services and Urology. The health center will also be on the Cary Medical Center campus, improving referral access to rehabilitation, laboratory, and radiology services addressing transportation limitations. This project also provides access to an adjacent education center and nutritional meals not available at the current health center. Our Comprehensive Health Approach to Rural Medicine, CHARM, expands access to convenient, patient-centered primary care through a seamless ‘One-Stop Shop’ model that makes it easier for patients to receive the care they need in one location. The project will strengthen the connection between outpatient and inpatient care to ensure smoother transitions, better communication, more coordinated treatment throughout every stage of a patient's healthcare journey and enhance real-time collaboration among healthcare providers by enabling the secure sharing of health information. Moving the largest primary care practice in Aroostook County to this location will advance community health education including smoking cessation and healthy nutrition options. Also, this model expands access to specialized medical and surgical care so patients can receive high-quality specialty services closer to home, reducing transportation barriers and improving continuity of care. This model also integrates behavioral health into primary care to provide whole person care that addresses both physical and mental health needs in a single, coordinated setting. This transition will also address the social factors that influence health by connecting patients with resources that help overcome barriers such as food insecurity, transportation, and empowering patients to make informed decisions. Delivering comprehensive care management across the entire continuum of care is also a goal of this project, ensuring patients receive personalized support, coordinated services, and guidance that improves health outcomes while enhancing their overall healthcare experience. This model will also assist with one of the costliest aspects of care, Emergency Department (ED) visits, as CHARM will allow patients who use the ED for an unnecessary visit to be referred to the FQHC, a building adjacent to the Emergency Department. Many patients who visit the ED for chronic health issues often do not follow up with recommended primary or specialty care. By having access to ‘same day’ outpatient visits co-located on the same campus and adjacent to the ED, patients will have the opportunity to access immediate follow up care. Once engaged in the primary care setting, patients will have the opportunity to establish a primary care provider and reduce the need for much more expensive emergency care.
