Welcome to our first interactive annual report.

On behalf of our entire team, thank you for your support and interest in our initiative.

It is an ever-changing world.

There are always unexpected events, challenges, and opportunities. In Maine, these days we know that is true now more than ever.

The Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine, a program of Massachusetts General Hospital, works to be a stable partner amidst these changes. We adapt mindfully, with collaboration and stakeholder input as our guiding principles. Our intent is to evolve with purpose and help Maine navigate changes and challenges with success.

That is why I am excited by the Lunder Learning Initiative. This visionary endeavor at Mass General promises to have a profound impact for patients and health care professionals alike. Lunder-Dineen is now part of the Peter L. Slavin, MD Academy for Applied Learning in Health Care, a key pillar of the Lunder Learning Initiative that will convene and support the educational community at MGH and beyond. This offers our team more access than ever to innovations in the science of learning, subject matter expertise and exemplar programs. And as always, we plan to share all we can to improve health and health education in Maine. The Slavin Academy approaches education just like Lunder-Dineen. They are intentional about bringing people together, breaking down silos and leveraging education to change practice and outcomes.

Those same reasons are why we convened experts from across Maine and began our work more than twelve years ago. Despite many changes in Maine over those years — new policies, more focus on health equity, shifting workforce trends, COVID, and more — our stable, collaborative, interprofessional approach to address public health problems with education produces a learning culture and consistent success.

In fact, a big reason for our success is that our education makes real-world business sense for health care organizations in Maine.

• All our programs are completely free for participants
• They center on peer-to-peer engagement, which builds community and collaboration
• They offer access to experts and feedback loops, so there is quality improvement
• They include practice support, so the knowledge and skills are operationalized and sustainable

This approach matters. It makes our education a very worthy time investment. It helps save money, improve retention, create a highly skilled workforce, and enhance patient satisfaction. That delivers impact to the bottom line. And for many rural hospitals and care settings in Maine, this is education they would not otherwise be able to access.

All of this ties back to the original shared vision of the Lunder family, Lunder Foundation, and Mass General. They pledged to improve the health of Maine residents by advancing the skills and expertise of Maine’s health professionals.

I am confident that Lunder-Dineen is making that vision a reality and expanding its impact.

Our approach mirrors the culture of Maine — determined, capable, and adaptive. That is also the culture of the Slavin Academy and our colleagues at Mass General.

We are proud to sit at the intersection of so many people and perspectives. I invite you to join our work to benefit Maine.

Just like any team in health care, we are stronger when we all work together.