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 more than 19,000 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.

Members include Franklin Memorial Hospital/Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington, LincolnHealth in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, Maine Behavioral Healthcare in South Portland, MaineHealth Care at Home in Saco, Maine Medical Center in Portland, Memorial Hospital in North Conway, N.H., NorDx in Scarborough, Pen Bay Medical Center and Waldo County Hospital in Rockport and Belfast, Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford and Sanford, Spring Harbor Hospital in Westbrook and Stephens Memorial Hospital/Western Maine Health in Norway.

Research, with an emphasis on application to patient care, is an integral part of MaineHealth.  Research takes place at the MaineHealth Institute for Research, at MaineHealth in clinical areas throughout the hospitals, and in the outpatient offices of our attending physicians.

MaineHealth is dedicated, through its three fold mission, to maintaining and improving the health of the communities it serves by:

• Caring for our community
• Educating tomorrow’s caregivers
• Researching new ways to provide care

Maine Medical Partners is a multi-specialty medical group, employed by Maine Medical Center, who support the patient-centered care in affiliation with MaineHealth.  There are more than 300 physicians and 1,500 employees providing a wide range of primary, specialty and sub-specialty care delivered through a network of more than 40 locations in and near Greater Portland. MMP depends on the MaineHealth IRB and HRPP for research oversight, and is therefore a component of the MaineHealth HRPP.

Human Research Protection Program Mission Statement

The mission of the MaineHealth Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) is to protect the rights, welfare and privacy of humans who participate in any research programs conducted in the MaineHealth communities.

The MaineHealth HRPP is committed to enhancing the responsible conduct of research for the protection of all of our human research participants.  We serve to carry out this mission by:

• Promoting an environment of respect and understanding of the rights and welfare of human research participants;
• Ensuring that the risks and benefits of each research study are thoroughly considered;
• Ensuring that our human participants are well-informed of their research rights.

Maximizing Compliance by Meeting Our Goals
The HRPP incorporates mechanisms to:

• Provide oversight of research participants;
• Continuously improve and enhance the Institutional Review Board’s role in the review of research;
• Establish a process to monitor, evaluate and continually improve the protection of human research participants;
• Educate staff who conduct research about the federal regulations and ethical principles guiding research with humans;  providing up-to-date information to keep staff current with any regulatory or Institutional policy changes;
• Implement quality improvements and quality assurance activities that will best serve the HRPP mission;
• Provide a process for responding to concerns of research participants or their families; research staff and the community.

The MaineHealth Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) recognizes that it is a privilege to work with human participants in research and welcomes any information that would support our efforts to assure the continuous quality and compliance of our program.  Submit comments anonymously (your login information will not be collected) by clicking on the button below.