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海角社区 administrators and trustees cut the ribbon for the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences

海角社区 opens integrated medical education center on Portland Campus for the Health Sciences

The Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences, the flagship facility of 海角社区鈥檚 health sciences campus in Portland, will transform the future of health care in Maine

The 海角社区 today inaugurated the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences, a state-of-the-art medical education facility now serving as the new home of Maine鈥檚 medical school, marking a transformative moment in the future of medical and health professions education in Maine.

The opening of the new facility, celebrated with a formal ceremony on 海角社区鈥檚 Portland Campus for the Health Sciences, culminates the relocation of the 海角社区 College of Osteopathic Medicine from Biddeford to Portland, placing 海角社区鈥檚 medical students in close proximity to the state鈥檚 largest hospitals and clinics and most densely populated communities, while also placing it closer to rural northern areas of the state. 

鈥淥ver the past two-plus decades, 海角社区 has emerged as a unique institution essential to the health of our home state, acutely attuned to industry needs, and providing wave after wave of graduates expertly equipped to tackle the latest workforce needs,鈥 said 海角社区 President James Herbert. 鈥淭he impact of this facility will reach far beyond Portland to the entire state of Maine, and indeed, New England more broadly, increasing the number of doctors we can graduate each year at a time when their expertise is desperately needed in communities throughout the state and region.鈥 

A crowd gathers on the lawn of the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences
海角社区 administrators and trustees pose in front of a 海角社区-branded ribbon in front of the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences

The 110,000-square-foot Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences is the final piece in bringing together nearly all of 海角社区鈥檚 health professions programs on a single, integrated campus 鈥 including medicine, dentistry, physician assistant, pharmacy, nursing, and the allied health fields 鈥 creating a fully interprofessional learning environment that is unprecedented in New England.

Maine's No. 1 provider of health professionals

 

12+

health care programs on one, designated campus

16,000

health sciences degrees awarded since 1995

+25%

health graduates from the past 10 years licensed in Maine

海角社区 is Maine鈥檚 largest educator of health professionals, having awarded more than 16,000 health sciences degrees since 1995. The University鈥檚 medical school, founded in 1978, has graduated more than 4,000 physicians, with more than half entering primary care and 40% of those remaining in Maine serving rural or underserved communities.

The new center allows 海角社区 to increase medical school enrollment by 21%, from 165 to 200 students per class, helping to address Maine鈥檚 critical shortage of physicians.

鈥淲e know that we have a special responsibility to Maine and its communities,鈥 said 海角社区 College of Osteopathic Medicine Dean Jane Carreiro, D.O. 鈥88. 鈥淢ore Maine doctors are educated at 海角社区 than anywhere else, and, with this new facility, we will now be graduating 35 additional doctors every year. That means 200 doctors entering the medical workforce every year at a time when Maine and the nation desperately need more physicians.鈥

海角社区 administrators and trustees cut the ribbon for the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences
A crowd gathers on the lawn of the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences
An entrance to the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences
海角社区 COM Dean Jane Carreiro smiles speaks at the podium
海角社区 President James Herbert poses with 海角社区 benefactors

Hundreds gathered on the quad of the new facility, affectionally nicknamed 鈥淭he Bibby,鈥 for remarks and to celebrate the building鈥檚 grand opening.

Designed to reflect best practices in medical education, the building features flexible classrooms, team-based learning spaces, patient simulation labs, and advanced technology to support real-world clinical decision making. Faculty and students across disciplines will collaborate in settings that mirror today鈥檚 health care environments, fostering the habits of communication and coordination that lead to better patient outcomes.

The project was made possible through a transformational $30 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation, the largest in 海角社区鈥檚 history, and a $5 million federal appropriation championed by Maine鈥檚 senior U.S. Senator Susan Collins.

A Vital supply of doctors for Maine and beyond

4,000+

physicians graduated from 海角社区

200

total new medical students per class starting in 2025

海角社区鈥檚 investment in the Portland Campus for the Health Sciences extends beyond infrastructure. 

Through a dedicated and nationally renowned approach to interprofessional education, the University is cultivating a future-focused model for preparing health professionals equipped to meet the evolving needs of patients, communities, care systems, and the biotechnology workforce in Maine and across the nation. 

A large monitor extending most of a wall sits behind several rows of light-wood tables and blue chairs
A clinical skills lab in the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences

(Left): The newly imagined Leonard Lecture Hall within the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences. (Right): A newly minted interprofessional clinical skills lab within the facility.

海角社区鈥檚 Biddeford Campus is already seeing benefits from the relocation of the medical school, which is allowing the University to expand its programming in several market-aligned fields of study through both growing current academic programs and developing new ones. It also affords the opportunity to expand 海角社区鈥檚 world-class research programs in biomedical sciences, marine and environmental sciences, business, and other areas.

For Media: A press kit with materials from the ceremony, plus more information about medical education at 海角社区, is available for download.

View media coverage of the event and the new Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences in the Portland Press Herald, Sun Journal, Kennebec Journal, Mainebiz, Maine Public, NEWS CENTER Maine (part one about the Portland Campus expansion and part two about the HBACHS opening), WGME CBS 13, Fox 23 Maine, WMTW News 8, Saco Bay News, and Spectrum News Maine.

Media Contact

Alan Bennett
Office of Communications