The Maine Medical Education Trust and the Daniel Hanley Center for Health Leadership announced plans Dec. 5 for a merger, effective Jan. 1.

The Hanley Center is Maine’s premier health leadership development organization with more than 20 years of experience in the field. The mission of the Hanley Center is to inspire and grow collaborative leaders to solve today’s health challenges. The Maine Medical Education Trust is the educational and charitable affiliate of the Maine Medical Association, the state’s largest physician professional organization with more than 4,300 members. The mission of the association and its affiliates is to support Maine physicians, advance the quality of medicine in Maine and promote the health of all Maine people.

“I am proud to share that the Maine Medical Education Trust soon will merge with the Daniel Hanley Center for Health Leadership,” said Erik Steele, D.O., president of the MMA/MMET, according to a news release from Dan Morin, director of Communications & Government Affairs, Maine Medical Association, based in Manchester. “It’s an incredible opportunity and the perfect time to formally combine our organizations’ strengths to better prepare Maine’s health care leaders with the information and training they need to navigate the complex layers of our health care system.”

Sean Hanley, M.D., chair of the board of directors of the Hanley Center and one of the founders of the organization, said “this merger will bring exciting opportunities to deepen our impacts at a time when the sustainability of our healthcare workforce continues to be challenged. We need creative, strategic, smart innovations to our health care delivery system and that cannot happen without skilled, trained physician and non-physician leaders alike.”

“Additionally,” he added, “the Hanley Center, the MMET, and the MMA are energized to combine our passion and efforts to mitigate health inequities, improving the health of all Maine’s communities.”

The merger was announced during the Hanley Center’s annual meeting and networking event at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport.