Rising Tide Awards

This peer-nominated award is a very special recognition of patient safety champions — individuals or organizations that advance patient safety within Maine through their leadership, dedication, and innovation.

2018 Rising Tide Award Recipients

Poppy Arford
Advocate

Poppy has been described as “a fierce patient advocate” and her passion as a consumer advocate is seen in her dedication to help make healthcare more affordable. She is involved with the Right Care Alliance and spent many years working with Maine Quality Counts and the Maine Health Data Organization, and is a consumer representative on the board of Healthcentric Advisors. 

Jennifer Fortin

Health and Wellness Program Coordinator for Evidence-Based Programs, Spectrum Generations/Healthy Living for ME

Jennifer is dedicated to offering Living Well program series throughout Maine, promoting healthy habits, prevention, and safety by empowering patients, beneficiaries, and community members to become active participants in their healthcare. She is a Master Trainer for the Self-Management Resource Center, a National Diabetes Prevention Program Coach, and trained to lead Tai Chi for Better Health. Her nominator states, “Jennifer’s infectious positive personality and optimism allow her to offer quality programs and experiences to everyone she touches. She believes that through health education, patients can increase their own health and safety at home and in their communities.”

Beth Stowell

senior loss control consultant

Beth was the driving force behind the Safe Patient Handling movement in the state of Maine in the early 90’s and was one of the first Nurse Safety Management Consultants hired by MEMIC. She has worked in the health/safety and occupational field for more than 30 years, 25 of those years with MEMIC which focuses on employee health and safety. In her years of work, she has undoubtedly indirectly touched thousands of patient’s lives through her commitment to and leadership in organizational safety culture change. Beth served on the Maine Governor’s Commission on Safety and Health in the Workplace for 14 years, and she worked to create the Maine Chapter of the Association of Occupational Health Nurses where she served on the board and as past President. Beth has developed programs for safe patient handling techniques and has presented those programs regionally and nationally at conferences thereby stretching her reach and impacting safety beyond just Maine. Her nominator notes, “for those healthcare companies she supports on an ongoing basis, she is an invaluable resource for consultation and educational offerings as well as bedside individual patient safety evaluations.”

Healthcentric Advisors

CMS Quality Improvement Contractor for the State of Maine

Healthcentric Advisors works to help improve our local healthcare systems by collaborating with other professionals, physicians, and their community partners in an effort to better care for our neighbors, mothers, fathers, sons & daughters. Through their work they have helped a small northern Maine community provide two-weeks’ worth of meals to discharged patients suffering food insecurity. They have brought state-of-the-art technology to Maine and provided best practice resources from across the nation and in New England. They strive to reduce the number of adverse outcomes to patients in rural health communities, as well as through their work in the small physicians’ offices, long-term care settings, and critical access hospitals. The fundamental principle behind their work is to better the healthcare industry for the state of Maine and New England. According to their nominator, “this small group of individuals reach the farthest points north and south in order to help and never say no to a health system reaching out for assistance. They continuously look for opportunities to improve on the work that’s being done in the community. Whether that’s helping a small community Aging in Place initiative or a major healthcare system improve their continuum of care, Healthcentric Advisors can be counted on by all the various levels of care through their education and assistance.  Their commitment to patient safety is evident in their efforts to support Mainers, their families, and their healthcare partners.”