Maine Medical Center Logo Maine Health Logo
Background image for the top navigation. The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital link. Clinicians page link. Works on Wellness and Employee Benefits page link Family Services page link. Link to Senior Services page.
Email to a friend    Printer Friendly Page
Care & Services
Clinical Services
Find a Doctor
Maine Medical Partners
Patients, Families, and Visitors - Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine
Maine Digestive Health Center at Maine Medical Center
Maine Medical Center Scarborough Surgery Center
Neuroscience Institute at Maine Medical Center
Surgical Services at Maine Medical Center
Palliative Care - Maine Medical Center
Portland Identification and Early Referral
Maine Medical Center - Cancer Institute
Breast Care Center - Maine Medical Center - Portland
MMP Women's Health and Gynecologic Oncology
Maine Medical Center - Cancer Care At MMC
Maine Medical Center - Maine Transplant
Maine Medical Center - Geriatric Care
Maine Medical Center - Department of Emergency Medicine
Greater Portland Medical Group
Maine Medical Center - Integrative Medicine Services
Maine Medical Center - Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation Highlights:
Maine Medical Center - Internal Medicine-Pediatrics
Maine Medical Center - Mental Healthcare
Northern New England Poison Center - 1-800-222-1222
Maine Medical Center - Nutrition Services
Maine Medical Center - Primary Care
Maine Medical Center - Family Medicine
Maine Medical Center - Department of Psychiatry
Maine Medical Center - MMC Radiation Therapy
About Radiology - Maine Medical Center
Maine Medical Center - Rehabilitation Medicine
Maine Medical Center - Respiratory Care
Maine Medical Center - Sports Medicine
Maine Medical Center - Physicians
Patient and Family Services
Maine Medical Center - Vocational Services - Who We Are
Maine Medical Center - Women's Care

News

University of New England and Maine Medical Center Form Teaching Partnership for New College of Pharmacy

The University of New England's College of Pharmacy has formed a teaching partnership with Maine Medical Center. Roberta M. Barber, PharmD, MPH, Director of Pharmacy Services at Maine Medical Center, has joined UNE's College of Pharmacy as Chair of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Associate Professor.

Barber's appointment will be unique within the College in that she will retain her current position at MMC, thus establishing a connection between the two. "UNE has a strong working relationship with Maine Medical Center and Roberta's appointment as our Chair of Pharmacy Practice solidifies that partnership," said College of Pharmacy Dean John Cormier.

Roberta Barber received her bachelor of science in pharmacy and doctor of pharmacy degrees from Union University, Albany College of Pharmacy, and her master of public health degree from Columbia University. Barber has been Director of Pharmacy at MMC since 2004 and is responsible for comprehensive pharmacy services at all three campuses (Bramhall, Scarborough, and Brighton).

"The Department of Pharmacy at Maine Medical Center is pleased to be a partner with the University of New England College of Pharmacy in providing clinical education and training for our future pharmacists," Barber said.  "I am honored to be part of the founding leadership team at the College, and look forward to the many mutual benefits of this program for our institutions, and our profession of pharmacy practice." As faculty to MMC's Pharmacy Practice Residency Program, Barber serves as preceptor for the Pharmacy Management rotation. She enjoys teaching and developing future leadership in pharmacy practice.

The University of New England's College of Pharmacy recently received a $4 million grant from the Maine Technology Asset Fund established with the $50 million research and development bond approved by voters last November. The grant will help fund the completion of the research labs designed to facilitate drug discovery and development in the College of Pharmacy's building, currently under construction on Stevens Avenue in Portland. It is the first such building in the state dedicated exclusively to pharmacy education and research. With the Doctor of Pharmacy program on schedule for accepting its first class in the fall of 2009, UNE President Danielle Ripich, PhD, said, "We are moving forward with our ambitious and very achievable goal of being one of the top-ranked pharmacy schools in the nation. This partnership with Maine Medical Center will help make that possible."

At the College's groundbreaking ceremony last spring, John Richardson, Maine's Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, said "University of New England will become the place to generate research and jobs, and improve the quality of life in Maine."  In a statement, Senator Olympia Snowe said "With Maine's first academic building devoted to pharmacy studies and research, we also establish a new era of medical innovation and educational advancement right here on the University of New England's Westbrook College Campus. By educating the next generation of pharmaceutical doctors and researchers, UNE's new College of Pharmacy will undoubtedly enhance Maine's healthcare system while generating an estimated $225 million into the state's economy."

"Participation in the educating of future pharmacists is an important part of Maine Medical Center's mission and our leadership role in the state," says Miriam Leonard, FACHE, MMC Vice President for Operations. "Pharmacists are a vital resource, not only for our state's health, but for our economy.  We are proud to partner with UNE, and to be a clinical and research training site for many students."

Background:

University of New England College of Pharmacy
The new $12.3 million, 48,000 square foot College of Pharmacy building will be completed in the summer of 2009 and will house rooms for pharmacy practice, sterile products and pharmaceutics labs, a drug information center, classrooms and offices for faculty and administration. In addition, the research floor, with over 10,000 square feet of assignable space, has been designed to accommodate six principal investigators with laboratory and core equipment space. Designed by Port City Architecture and built by Allied/Cook Construction, both of Portland, the building is registered for USGBC LEED certification.  With the construction of the College of Pharmacy building, the University's plans to begin its four-year Pharm.D. graduate program in 2009 are well underway. The Maine State Board of Education has given its unconditional approval, and the University is currently seeking pre-accreditation status through the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). More than 120  prepharmacy students are registered for the fall semester on the University's campus in Biddeford.

Maine Medical Center
Maine Medical Center fills a dual role: it is Maine's premier referral hospital, offering services not available elsewhere in the state, and it is a community hospital serving the Greater Portland region. It is one of the country's consistently highest rated hospitals:  MMC was rated the fourth safest hospital in the U.S.; it is designated a Magnet hospital, with a nursing staff rated in the top 5% in the world for nursing excellence; and U.S. News & World Reports ranked it in the top 50 for Orthopedics, Heart and Heart Surgery, and Gynecology.  Maine Medical Center is a 606-bed teaching hospital, with active programs in undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, post-graduate medical education, nursing education, and allied health professional education. A partnership with Tufts University School of Medicine offers a medical degree from both Tufts and MMC.  Research, with an emphasis on application to patient care, is an integral part of Maine Medical Center. Research takes place at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute, at MMC in clinical areas throughout the hospital, and in the offices of our attending physicians.

###

 
Quality Healthcare
Health Information
Contact Us  |  Your Privacy  |  Careers  |  MaineHealth  |  For Vendors

22 Bramhall Street | Portland, Maine 04102-3175 | (207) 662-0111