Karin Cole, M.D., has been named Caregiver of the Year by the Maine Hospital Association, “in recognition of outstanding commitment to patient care.” Dr. Cole is a surgeon at Northern Lights Mercy Hospital in Portland. The award was presented June 18, 2025, at the MHA’s Summer Forum at the Samoset Resort, in Rockport.

A 1996 graduate of Camden Rockport High School, Dr. Cole earned her undergraduate degree at Tulane University, New Orleans, and her MD degree at Tufts Medical School in Boston. She completed a residency in surgery at Abington Hospital outside Philadelphia and a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She is in her 14th year of practice at Mercy Hospital.

Dr. Cole is the daughter of Rockport residents Ann and Bruce Cole.

In its announcement, the MHA described the Caregiver of the Year Award as “the highest honor awarded by MHA.” Recent previous recipients include Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Trauma Response Team at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, following the 2023 shootings in that city.

“Dr. Cole embodies everything this award stands for,” said Steven Michaud, president of the Maine Hospital Association. “Her empathy, professionalism, and commitment to care go far beyond the operating room. She brings comfort and clarity to patients in their most vulnerable moments.”

Dr. Cole and her husband, Sean Trask, live in Falmouth with their sons Thomas, 15, and Nathan, 12.