A graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine and the Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency Program, he initially worked in role of Family Physician /Medical Director at the Penobscot Nation Health Center and The Penobscot Nation Substance Abuse Program and became duel boarded in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine.
He continues to do the full range of Family Medicine, is passionate about Obstetrics, and has been in the forefront of providers in New England treating at risk pregnant women affected by substance use disorders, family violence, and other social risks. He continues to be the medical director of the substance abuse halfway houses in Bangor, Maine: Wellspring Men’s and Women’s Halfway Houses and Infinity House for Women (for pregnant and recently delivered moms with babies).
He has been clinical faculty in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine at Tufts University, University of New England, and University of Vermont. He has taken on a role in the residency, the state of Maine and nationally engaging medical students, residents, community physicians, and other professionals to improve individual and community response to people who have experienced adverse childhood experiences(ACEs), and those suffering from chronic pain, substance use disorders, domestic violence, and child abuse.
An early adopter of office-based medically assisted treatment (MAT) with buprenorphine for opioid dependence in 2002, he fully integrated it into the EMMC Family Medicine Residency Program. He advanced the cause of outpatient opiate addiction treatment such that it is now much more available throughout Maine and New England. Working in collaboration with the Family Medicine Education Collaborative and the Society of Teachers in Family Medicine, he has developed and presents training programs in Maine as well as nationally to increase primary care provider screening and appropriate responses to patients with pain and addiction disorders, and family violence. He was the principle investigator for a MeHAF (Maine Health Access Foundation) integration grant: Integrating Behavioral Healthcare and Primary Care Services for Substance Abuse Affected Families and now is co-investigator for a new 3 year grant improving access to substance use disorder treatment for the 4 Native American Tribes in Maine: MAKWI: Wabanaki Intertribal Initiative to Recovery.
His other medical interests include medical ethics and cultural awareness, resident and physician mental health, and hypnosis.
His other passions:
Enjoying everything Maine offers with his wife Jean: hiking, kayaking, cross country skiing, hockey, woodworking, playing congas/light percussion in his band, and contra dancing.