title: Blue Hill's odyssey. Our goal: to be a prototype for rural primary care. Interview by Kevin Lumsdon.
abstract: When Bruce Cummings was recruited for the CEO post at Blue Hill (ME) Memorial Hospital, the organization was still reeling from a dispute that had led the medical staff to declare a vote of no confidence in the former administration and board of directors. Cummings has since guided the medical staff and board through discussions that culminated in a new vision: forming an integrated primary care system. That redirection earned Blue Hill honors as a finalist earlier this year in the American Hospital Association's first NOVA awards for collaboration. Cummings spoke recently with senior editor Kevin Lumsdon about the hospital's plans.
authors.affiliation: Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, ME.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cummings
mesh_terms: D005582:Foundations / Q000458:organization & administration; D006123:Group Practice / Q000458:organization & administration; D006743:Hospital Bed Capacity, under 100; D006759:Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008281:Maine; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*