Maine’s health care environment is becoming more complex and competitive than ever before. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to find solutions to the problems of access, quality and affordability.

Maine needs leaders who are able to tackle these tough challenges–challenges that require courage, vision and new and more effective leadership approaches.

Since its creation in late 2006, more than 150 leaders have taken part in Maine's unique statewide Health Leadership Development (HLD) course. Each year HLD brings together a diverse mix of experienced leaders from a wide range of health and healthcare settings and professions to build their individual collaborative leadership skills and prepare them to lead efforts aimed at improving quality and expanding access to affordable care. While these dedicated individuals come from different backgrounds and communities, they share a deep commitment to making a difference here in Maine.

HLD is a major program of the Daniel Hanley Center for Health Leadership, an indepedent non profit organization based in Portland, Maine. The HLD course was developed in cooperation with the Institute for Civic Leadership. For more information about the Hanley Center, visit hanleyleadership.org.

Alumni On Belay 

Chuck Radis

South Sudan, which joined the family of nations in 2011, has the highest infant and maternal mortality in the world. Portland’s 600 South Sudanese refugees have formed a non-profit, Aserela (Association for Self Reliance) to help those who remain behind. As a member of the board of directors of Aserela, Dr. Charles Radis (HLD IV Alum) traveled with Dan Crothers to a cluster of villages along the Kit River in May of 2012 to coordinate the region’s first traditional birth attendant training program. The program, developed by the MGH Division of Global Health, is directed towards birth attendants who are unable to read or write. During the 5 day class, participants practiced their lessons through dance and song. A re-usable backpack of critical birth supplies was given to each graduate. During his time in South Sudan, Dr. Radis was able to develop contacts in the South Sudan public health community, government officials, and other physicians in the region. Future training programs, including basic first aid, AIDS prevention, and increasing the availability of immunizations and malaria nets will bring him back to the region in 2013.

Jamie Zeitlin 

Chris Pezzullo 

Chris Pezzullo recently started at the Maine CDC as the medical director for the Division of Population Health (the new division created out of the amalgamation of Chronic Disease, Cancer and Maternal and Child Health). His role is cross-divisional, mostly as an internal consultant who translates clinical medicine to and from the work of the division. You may see him out and about in the state as he'll soon be embarking on some hospital grand rounds as they detail outcomes of their research around autism, hearing screening, drug affected newborns, obesity, emergency-preparedness, etc.