Contact: Caroline Cornish
207-662-5146 / caroline.cornish@mainehealth.org
PORTLAND, Maine – MaineHealth and Maine Medical Center are pleased to welcome Kneka Smith, EdD, MPH, as the vice president of operations for Academic Affairs. Dr. Smith will start on January 19, and brings over two decades of academic affairs and health care education leadership experience to this new role. Dr. Smith previously served as director of the From the First Tooth initiative at MaineHealth between 2013 and 2016.
In this new position, Dr. Smith will serve in a strategic and operational role within the Maine Medical Center Department of Medical Education, the Maine Medical Center Research Institute, and the MaineHealth Innovation Center, overseeing certain functions and performance of corporate administration and assisting with the implementation of the recently approved FY21-FY22 Academic Affairs strategic plan.
“We are thrilled to have Kneka join our growing Academic Affairs team. Her excellent leadership, operational oversight, and commitment to our patients and communities will drive us toward our vision of transforming MaineHealth into a learning health care and leading academic health system,” said Dr. Doug Sawyer, chief academic officer.
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About MaineHealth
MaineHealth is a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of eight local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,500 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With over 22,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire.