11/04/2025
Cary Medical Center Supports Local Learners by Advocating for Change
For Immediate Release
CARIBOU, ME – November 3, 2025 – Aroostook County’s four hospitals are in critical need of more Radiologic Technologists. To help with this staffing shortage, Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC) stepped in to offer an intensive two-year program from a classroom located on Northern Maine Community College’s (NMCC) Presque Isle campus, with the classes being taught by faculty at EMCC in Bangor and clinical opportunities provided throughout the County, and closer to home, for students from the region.
“I like that we get to explore different modalities as well as different hospitals throughout the area,” stated second-year student, Grace Toupin. “Once we’re actually ready to start a career, we have a good taste of the different people working there and the flow of things. And if we do want to go into a certain modality, we know which hospital we want to go to.”
Lori Ann Ouellette is the Northern Maine instructor for the classes held at Northern Maine Community College. She has been with these students since this cohort started in the Fall of 2024.
“I’m kind of like the mom of the group for two years,” joked Ouellette. The number of students enrolled in the northern Maine cohort was eight to begin the program. That number has dropped to five this semester, with one student transferring to EMCC to complete their degree.
Ouellette, who was the Radiology Manager at Cary Medical Center in Caribou for six years, says ongoing staffing needs in the county highlight the opportunity for students to contribute to and remain part of the local workforce.
“We can only do one cohort at a time,” said Ouellette. “So, there are no year one students now because there is not enough capacity at the hospitals due to their department size and staffing levels to take on a program every year.”
Those staffing issues are set to get worse as the program is in jeopardy of being discontinued due to rules in place by the Department of Education and the organization that accredits the program, the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT).
“The accrediting body, JRCERT, it is their policy not to recognize branch campuses under accreditation of the main program,” explained Heather Merrill, Medical Radiography Program Director at EMCC. “If EMCC wanted this program to maintain accreditation, it would have to be a distance program, and even with this change, EMCC couldn’t deliver the program the way they do now. Students would have to learn from home.”
This change would take away the camaraderie and cooperation the students share in the classroom setting.
“In the group setting, students can talk over material as most everything is foreign to them,” Merrill stated. “Learning something new without visual and hands on opportunities makes it hard.”
“EMCC is happy to provide this opportunity for hybrid instruction but unfortunately cannot provide for any other students for the foreseeable future,” lamented Merrill.
Some students in the future could do their clinicals locally, but still have to travel more than 100 miles, and in the case of students from the St. John Valley, 200 miles each way to attend classes in Bangor.
“My sister is a Family Nurse Practitioner, and she told me if I was actually serious about working in radiology I should go job shadow to see what it was like,” explained second-year student, Natalie Martin. “If the program was down in Bangor, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to do it financially. But then we heard about the program up here last minute and I signed up and I got in, thankfully. If I had to go down to Bangor, I don’t think it would’ve happened for me.”
The last time this program was offered at NMCC, back in 2006, six students graduated from the program with Associate Science in Medical Radiography degrees. All six stayed in the area and found jobs at local hospitals, helping meet a major staffing need for all of Aroostook County’s hospitals.
“Some are still working here nearly 20 years later,” said Merrill. “That was the goal of the program, providing the training closer to where the students live, and providing them exposure to the hospitals in their community to help them find the right fit for them.”
“It is disappointing the community college can’t help the northern Maine community,” sighed Ouellette. “The need is here. The students are here. The jobs are here. But we can’t teach them here.”
“At a time when rural hospitals across the country are faced with staffing shortages and financial challenges, it is difficult to see a program that works for our hospitals, our patients and our young people come to an end because of a rule that just doesn’t make sense,” stated Kris Doody, R.N. and CEO of Cary Medical Center. “It is our hope that by shedding a light on this issue, that the Department of Education and JRCERT can examine their accreditation requirements and help people learn where they live and assist with the workforce needs in rural Maine.”
The students in this cohort will graduate this spring, and all of them plan to practice in Aroostook County. All will start their new careers earning anywhere from $21 to $28 dollars per hour while providing care to their families and neighbors.
“This experience has given me more confidence and has helped confirm this is a job I would like to do,” said Rochelle Chasse.
If the rules aren’t changed soon, Chasse and her classmates will be the last ones to learn where they live, making a critical staffing shortage even worse.
Cary Medical Center is a 63-bed acute care hospital well known for its patient-centered services. We are a community of providers committed to excellence in healthcare and to improving the lives of those we serve. We are actively engaged in advancing the health and wellness needs of people in Aroostook County, including the unserved and underserved. Cary Medical Center is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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