PeROCKPORT — The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center recently recognized Pen Bay Pediatrics for delivering exceptional pediatric primary care to the coastal communities.

To qualify for 2020 The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital Excellence in Pediatric Care honors, Pen Bay Pediatrics, a department of Pen Bay Medical Center (PBMC), had to meet specific goals. These included scheduling patients for all recommended well child visits, screening for adverse childhood experiences and providing babies and toddlers with their full series of vaccines before their second birthday.

“We know that children who get off to a healthy start are more likely to live healthy lives as adults,” said PBMC pediatrician Adeline Winkes, MD, in a PBMC news release. “In that sense, this honor highlights our commitment not just to today’s children but also to the health of our community for generations to come.”

Dr. Winkes stressed the importance of maintaining wellness visits and vaccination schedules to ensure that children get a healthy start to life. She noted that Pen Bay Pediatrics has adopted measures to ensure that children and their parents have a safe place to come to for their health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pen Bay Pediatrics, located in the new Health Center at 15 Anchor Drive on the PBMC campus in Rockport, is accepting new patients and can be reached at 301-5600.

Pen Bay Pediatrics is also expanding the specialist care it can provide to patients through a partnership with MaineHealth and The Barbara Bush Children Hospital at Maine Medical Center.

Beginning this spring, BBCH specialists in pediatric genetics, endocrinology and gastroenterology will make the trip to Rockport as part of an effort that seeks to reduce the need for children with special health needs to travel to Portland. The specialties were selected based on a review of records that showed them to meet the highest needs in Knox and Waldo counties.

“This is a significant step forward in our larger effort to provide the care our patients need close to home,” said Mark Fourre, MD, president of PBMC and Waldo County General Hospital. “It shows how being a part of the larger MaineHealth system allows us to make our communities the healthiest they can be.”

If a child needs additional specialty care, the BBCH facilities in Portland can provide comprehensive, family-centered health care. With 116 beds, including 31 Level III neonatal intensive care unit beds, 20 Level II continuing care nursery beds and eight pediatric intensive care unit beds, it is Maine's premier referral hospital, offering specialty care not available elsewhere in the state.

Pen Bay Medical Center

Pen Bay Medical Center is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of nine local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,600 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With more than 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit pbmc.org.