ROCKPORT — Pen Bay Medical Center welcomes Julia Hutchings-Sakaue and Chanya Elkins, third-year medical students enrolled in the Maine Track program of Tufts University School of Medicine. They will spend the next nine months rotating through the departments of Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, OB/GYN, Surgery and Family Medicine, among others.

Hutchings-Sakaue is from Scarsdale, New York, and graduated cum laude from Colby College, in Waterville, in May 2022, with a bachelor’s degree in biology: neuroscience with minors in chemistry and women, gender and sexuality studies. During her time at Colby, Hutchings-Sakaue was heavily involved in the biology department, working as a teaching assistant and receiving the 2022 Webster Chester Biology Prize. She spent time working in clinics and hospitals in Guatemala and Chile, which helped develop her passion for health justice. Hutchings-Sakaue also worked for Sherohub, LLC, a company that focuses on education for recognizing signs of domestic violence education and sex trafficking.

“Ever since I studied and witnessed the inequity and social injustice of healthcare in Chile, I have had a growing passion for practicing medicine in underserved areas,” said Hutchings-Sakaue, in a PBMC news release. “Through the TUSM-MMC track, I hope to further understand the challenges specific to rural communities, preparing me to pursue my dream of contributing to health justice and equity as a physician.”

Born in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Elkins received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During her time in college, she worked and volunteered as a patient care tech, EMT and on the Allegheny Mountain Search and Rescue team. She also worked as a clinical research coordinator at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado. Her experiences in healthcare have built an interest in learning about medical care in resource-limited environments and building strong community relationships.

“The Maine Track is an incredible program to learn about community healthcare needs in environments both urban and rural alongside educators and classmates who are supportive, kind, and encourage growth every step of the way,” said Elkins.

The Maine Track program is a partnership between MMC and Tufts formed 15 years ago to help address the shortage of doctors in Maine, provide financial assistance to aspiring medical students with a connection to Maine and develop an innovative curriculum focused on community-based education.

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.