Something new and exciting may happen in our community, and we are anxious to have you involved. How do you get the word out in a small coastal town in Maine? You have a down-home potluck supper in the fire house! So bring your favorite dish to share and enjoy a vibrant conversation about how the community could create its own healthcare center.

Yes. We said “create our own healthcare center.” It’s not just a dream folks, it is happening all over the country because people are so fed up and dissatisfied with their present healthcare system.

Join us on March 19 at 5:30 p.m. for a potluck supper at the Boothbay Fire Station. After supper, Dave deBronkart with Patty Seybold will discuss how empowered patients (that’s you) play a role in designing healthcare. Next, Jerry Homer, a director of Boothbay Healthcare, Inc., will describe the current plans for Boothbay Region Health Center and solicit feedback from attendees.

Also presenting will be Gissela Paz, RN, from New England Telemedicine, who will describe the medical specialty services her firm is able to provide. She will also solicit input from community members about what kind of specialists they would like to be able to consult right here at home.

It is as simple as this, folks. The Boothbay Region Health Center is not going to be about someone from away telling you what you need — it will be patient-driven. It’s as simple as this; it will be accessible and affordable. We are not paying high executive salaries and high overhead. Let’s talk about putting our money into the best possible service for the best possible price.

For those of you who are happy with the healthcare services which already exist on the peninsula, by all means continue to use them. For those of you who are not happy and cannot travel 30 to 60 miles for needed service, wouldn’t it be lovely to have another option right here at home? This is not about duplicating services; this is about identifying additional services that you think are needed and attempting to provide those services here on the peninsula.

The mission of the Boothbay Health and Wellness Foundation is that we support affordable, accessible, local options for health and wellness on the Boothbay peninsula.

A new nonprofit corporation, Boothbay Region Health Care, Inc., has planned an evening to introduce and discuss the proposed plans for the creation of a new Healthcare Center located right here in Boothbay. If you are the least bit curious or interested, mark your calendar right now for Thursday, March 19. After all, we need to be engaged, not just as individual patients, but as a community taking charge of our healthcare system.