TAMC president recognized
for helping shape future of Maine’s economy
PRESQUE ISLE — TAMC has a reputation for paving the way to the future and supporting the local community, and now Maine’s most recognized multimedia business news source has named the health care organization’s leader to their 2013 list of the state’s 10 key players shaping the future of Maine’s economy.
Mainebiz has named TAMC President and CEO Sylvia Getman to its 2013 Next List recognizing her work “guiding a rural health care system during a time of rapid change.” 
Mainebiz Editor Carol Coultas said the selection process involves choosing honorees “based on the impact they are having in shaping Maine’s economy in a good way, and whose work holds promise for Maine.”
“Sylvia impressed us on several measures, not the least of which is her management of Aroostook County’s largest employer and her sensitivity toward lowering the cost of health care in the region, while at the same time increasing accountability and efficiency,” said Coultas. “We regard her as a pioneer in the delivery of health care in Maine, which goes beyond having an economic impact to having an impact on the well-being of Mainers.”
Health care is an ever-changing industry, making Getman’s job a tremendous challenge, but one she is more than equipped to tackle. According to Mainebiz’s profile article on Getman, “she says the transformations taking place in health care right now are akin ‘to building an airplane while you’re flying it … If I’m in that airplane I’d want to work with other people who’d built airplanes before. I’d like to know they’d built an airplane that could fly. And I’d want to know we had the right parts to complete the job.’”
Mainebiz identified some of the changes occurring in health care including, “the Affordable Care Act and its push for health care reforms in which payments will be based on quality, not quantity; the shift to electronic medical recordkeeping; public demand for transparency regarding the costs and quality of health care; and payment reforms in Medicare and Medicaid.”
Getman views the changes as opportunities and remains optimistic about the future of health care and TAMC’s role in being a leader in the industry. She embraces the rural communities that TAMC serves and believes a hospital in a rural region has an opportunity to be a nucleus for change by focusing on quality care and by holding itself publicly accountable.
Getman says she is honored that Mainebiz chose her for the Next List honor, but credits the TAMC team for her success.
“I was surprised and very pleased with being chosen as part of the 2013 Next List. I was also humbled, because at TAMC and EMHS, it is very much a team effort, and everything I have done reflects the innovation, commitment and passion of the great people I am privileged to serve with.”
To view the full text of the Mainebiz article, visit http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20131014/CURRENTEDITION/310109994.
