Year-round primary care services will soon be available in Northeast Harbor. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Mount Desert Island Hospital and the Town of Mount Desert’s Medical Center have resumed their partnership of more than 50 years with a new long-term lease. The agreement will establish year-round primary care services at the Northeast Harbor Clinic on 9 Kimball Road in Northeast Harbor.

“We’re so pleased to be reopening our Northeast Harbor Clinic to provide expanded year-round access to primary care to the Mount Desert Community,” said Chrissi Maguire, President/CEO of MDI Hospital. “This would not have been possible without the dedication of the Mount Desert Medical Center Board of Trustees, local and seasonal residents and town leadership.”

The clinic, set to reopen on June 20, will be staffed with a family nurse practitioner, medical assistant and a receptionist. Initially, the clinic will be open three half days per week: Mondays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon, and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Outside of clinic hours, appointments will be available at MDI Hospital Health Centers in Southwest Harbor, Bar Harbor and Trenton.

On August 1, rotating specialty clinics will begin one to two days a month, featuring specialties such as general surgery, orthopedics, psychiatry, and cardiology. Open hours and specialty clinic availability are expected to increase based on demand. Renovations to the original building are now underway to accommodate the expanded service offerings.

“It is very exciting to see the renovations transforming the center into a space that is light and bright and will again provide excellent healthcare to the residents of the Town of Mount Desert and outer islands,” said Judy Gilkes Benson, President, Mount Desert Medical Center Board of Trustees. “We’re so grateful for Mount Desert Island Hospital’s commitment to our community.”

First established in 1967, the Mount Desert Medical Center was made possible by the commitment of year-round residents and the summer community who raised funds and established a non-profit board of trustees to ensure that the Town of Mount Desert had access to medical services.

The original working group included Drs. Ernest Coffin, G. Merril Haskell and Robert D. Wilson, the Chamber of Commerce, town officials and the support of the two local hospitals. The first board of directors included John S. Fernald, Jr, President; Dwight B. Carter, VP; Ruth Jordan, Secretary; Carlo Nifi, Treasurer; and Directors Woodbury A. Stanley; Frederick F. Brown; John E. Jordan, Jr; Horace E. Bucklin. Early board and committee members also included A. Cushman McGiffert; Mrs. Llewellyn Mitchell; Mrs. George Manchester; Donald Bryant; Mr. Burden; Mr. Cromwell; Thomas McCabe; Mr. Blum and Brooke Astor. Many current board members are descendants of the center’s original members.

More information, including how to book an appointment, will be made available on the clinic’s page in the coming weeks.