From Fairways to Frontlines: Golf Tournament Support Drives MaineHealth Memorial Hospital’s New IFT Home

(with scissors) Christopher Pare, MaineHealth EMS Interfacility Transport Director, officially opens the IFT building at MaineHealth Memorial Hospital

NORTH CONWAY, NH-One year after launching a service designed to help patients safely navigate the next step in their health care journey, MaineHealth Memorial Hospital officially opened the new home of its interfacility transport (IFT) program Tuesday, May 19, with a ribbon cutting. The hospital celebrated the program's success and the support from the hospital's annual golf tournament that made this new home possible.

MaineHealth Memorial Hospital leaders, care team members and golf tournament participants gathered on the hospital campus to mark the opening of the renovated facility that now houses MaineHealth's local IFT ambulance fleet. Also marking the occasion were members of local ambulance crews as part of their Emergency Medical Services Week celebration.

The MaineHealth IFT building at MaineHealth Memorial Hospital is located next to the emergency department entrance.

Unlike traditional 911 ambulance services, MaineHealth Memorial Hospital's IFT program focuses specifically on scheduled and medically necessary patient transfers, helping ensure patients receive the right care in the right setting while remaining connected to their local health care system whenever possible.

The upgraded space provides a dedicated base of operations for the program, which transports patients between hospitals, rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities and other levels of care throughout the region.

"Each year, our golf tournament participants and sponsors come together in an extraordinary show of generosity, identifying a hospital need and helping fund it through their support," says MaineHealth Memorial Hospital President Tricia Costigan. "This renovation is a direct result of that commitment, addressing a critical need to help patients get the right care at the right place at the right time." MaineHealth Memorial Hospital, she noted, serves a rural region where access to care often depends on safe, timely transportation between facilities. "Those transitions matter deeply. They can affect outcomes, comfort, family connections and peace of mind."

Members of the MaineHealth Mountain Region interfacility transport team pose for a photo outside their transport vehicle. The team helps ensure patients receive safe, specialized care while being transferred between hospitals and other health care facilities.

Since launching in March 2025, the MaineHealth Memorial Hospital IFT service has helped improve coordination of care, reduce delays in patient transfers, and support smoother transitions between health care facilities. MaineHealth has ten other ambulance bases in the system, some dedicated to interfacility transport services and some also available for 911 services when needed.

For patients and families, those transfers often happen during stressful and uncertain moments. Members of the IFT team say their role goes beyond transportation alone, especially since they also serve as members of the emergency department team when not traveling with the ambulance.

"We're familiar with the patient. We've often been part of their care from the moment they arrive, all the way through transfer," says Chrisopher Broughton-Bossong, the lead paramedic on the MaineHealth Memorial campus. "It's not just this mystery team coming in, putting you in the back of an ambulance, and dropping you off at another hospital."

The new facility provides indoor space for the ambulance vehicles, equipment storage, and operational support for the growing program. Leaders say the investment reflects the hospital's long-term commitment to strengthening rural healthcare access and improving patient movement throughout the care continuum.

"As health care continues to evolve, partnerships and coordination matter more than ever," said Christopher Pare, Director of MaineHealth's EMS Interfacility Transport. "Having a dedicated interfacility transport service allows us to better serve patients locally while also connecting them efficiently to the broader network of care they may need."

Over the past year, the IFT team has transported patients to regional partners including MaineHealth Maine Medical Center as well as nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, and specialty care centers across the state and region.

MaineHealth and MaineHealth Memorial Hospital leaders say the program's first year has demonstrated both the need for and value of dedicated interfacility transport services in a rural community, with the new facility positioning the team for continued growth in the years ahead.

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About MaineHealth Memorial Hospital
MaineHealth Memorial Hospital is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital serving the Mount Washington Valley of northern New Hampshire and western Maine. MaineHealth Memorial Hospital has earned a reputation among local residents and visitors for providing quality, compassionate and personalized care to its patients.

MaineHealth Memorial Hospital includes a robust array of health care services including primary and specialty care services and therapies, emergency care, a birthing center and surgical services. Its care team of 525 includes physicians and advance practice providers who are among the more than 2,000 providers who are part of the MaineHealth Medical Group. Memorial patients have access to onsite care in oncology, cardiology, vascular and pulmonary medicine. MaineHealth Memorial Hospital also partners with several local organizations to provide outreach and educational services supporting the health of our patients and community.

MaineHealth Memorial Hospital is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system whose vision is, "Working together so our communities are the healthiest in America." As part of the MaineHealth family, MaineHealth Memorial Hospital is able to offer patients a comprehensive network of care that includes world-class specialists, a Level 1 Trauma medical center, comprehensive pediatric care services, an extensive behavioral health care network, diagnostic services.