MaineGeneral Medical Center’s efforts to improve patient experience have been recognized by the National Research Corp. with a 2015 Path to Excellence award, according to a news release from the hospital. MaineGeneral was recognized at the 21st Annual NRC Picker Patient-Centered Care Symposium in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 20.

The medical center was one of four facilities nationwide in the 100-to-300-bed category selected for the award. The selection was based on inpatient performance and covers the period of April 2014 to March 2015.

MaineGeneral was noted for being one of the two most improved facilities, showing the highest increase in percentage of patients rating the medical center a 9 or 10 from the previous year’s performance.

Care & Comfort picks Stair to be chief operating officer

WATERVILLE — Care & Comfort, one of Maine’s largest health care providers, has appointed Michael G. Stair chief operating officer, assigning him responsibility for the company’s operations statewide.

A Texas native, Stair earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He has nearly 30 years of business, financial, information technology and operational management experience, much of which was with health care organizations, according to a news release from the agency.

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Previously, Stair worked nine years for Seniors Plus/Elder Independence of Maine, then became chief operating officer of a company that provides direct home health care services. He moved to Maine more than 20 years ago when the company for which he was working transferred him here.

Care & Comfort, a state-licensed, Waterville-based agency, has about 600 employees and operates branches in Waterville, Bangor, Dover-Foxcroft, Wilton and Presque Isle.

Harvey Building Products to open Augusta branch

Harvey Building Products, a privately owned corporation headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, plans to open an Augusta branch Oct. 5 at 80 Anthony Ave., in the Augusta Business Park.

Founded in 1961, Harvey makes windows, doors and porch enclosures at two manufacturing plants in the Northeast. The Augusta site will increase its number of branches to 34, including one that opened seven years ago in Portland, according to a company news release.

The company plans to host a daylong grand opening at the Augusta store for local community leaders on Oct. 29.

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Augusta merchants to host fall festival

Downtown Augusta merchants are hosting Autumn Fest 2015 from Oct. 9 to 10.

Friday events, scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m., include a chili cook-off, a scarecrow contest, a scavenger hunt, live music and local food vendors.

On Saturday, Water Street will be closed from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. to provide space for live music throughout the day, demonstrations by area businesses, pets available for adoption from the Kennebec Valley Humane Society, face painting and other activities.

For more information, consult the Downtown Expo Autumn Fest Facebook page.

Water works association honors Monmouth man

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Robbi Lockhart, of Monmouth, has received the 2015 Kenneth O. Hodgson Distinguished Service Award from the New England Water Works Association, the region’s largest and oldest not-for-profit organization of water works professionals.

The award committee chose Lockhart “based on his long-term water works career, his position as a respected professional among his peers and customers, and his quiet but consistent contributions as a NEWWA volunteer,” according to an association news release.

Lockhart is the manager of operations at Everett J. Prescott, Inc. in Gardiner. In this position, he acts as facilities manager for all the company’s divisions, manages trade shows in Maine and out of state and assists with implementing all the company’s new products and services.

Lockhart has been an active member of the association’s Sponsor Service Committee for more than 10 years and a member of the Site Selection Committee for 4 years. He was also co-chairman of the Tapping Committee as part of the local arrangements group for the association’s 2014 annual conference and exposition in Boston.

The New England Water Works Association is a nonprofit, independent organization established in 1882 to serve the region’s water works professionals and the public interest. The group works to improve and sustain public water supplies, protect public health and safety and advance the water supply profession, according to the release.

Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice opens Manchester office

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Lewiston-based Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice opened a one-room office in July in Manchester for use by its staff, according to Jim Bouchard, the agency’s director of marketing and development.

The office is intended to make home care and home hospice care work more efficient by providing staff members Internet and telefax access closer to where their patients in western Kennebec County live. The new office allows faster updating of patient records and reduces staff members’ need to work on laptop computers in their cars or drive back to Lewiston between patient visits, Bouchard said in a telephone interview.

Earlier this year, Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice’s Norway office moved into a new space in the The Golden Arch building and expanded its Bridgton office, based at Bridgton Hospital, to provide its staff with a more efficient and effective work environment, according to an agency news release.

The agency has 432 staff members and 280 volunteers who provide care to residents of Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties and parts of Cumberland, Kennebec, Sagadahoc and Somerset counties. Last year, it provided care for more than 10,200 people.

Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice is a nonprofit Medicare-certified agency that provides specialized skilled, supportive and hospice services to patients and their families in the patients’ homes. In 2005 it opened Maine’s first inpatient hospice facility in Auburn. More information about the agency is available at its website at www.AHCH.org.

AIM Recycling top Make-A-Wish Maine donor

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AIM Recycling, which operates a metal recycling site in Oakland, was the top new donor business to Make-A-Wish Maine in 2015, having given more than $30,000, according to the agency, which seeks to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.

The company’s donation will grant wishes of five Maine children, the agency said in a news release.

The company raised the donated money through a variety of efforts, including a $1 donation for each ton of metal recycled, a raffle for a new truck, a golf tournament and donation stands at events around the state. Company representative Dick Belisle said some customers donated their entire scrap metal load to Make-A-Wish, according to the agency.

Sonya Purington, marketing director at Make-A-Wish, praised AIM for its fundraising efforts, saying in the news release that it “represents the very best in a community-minded company.”

In addition to fundraising, AIM has offered Maine Wish Kids exclusive access to various events, including a behind-the-scenes tour and pit passes at the recent AIM Recycling Oxford 250, the biggest race of the year at Oxford Plains Speedway.

AIM Recycling also has a metal recycling site in Arundel, another in Caribou and two in Bangor.

Compiled from contributed releases


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