BANGOR – Representatives from Eastern Maine Medical Center and its parent company, Eastern Maine Healthcare, issued a status report Monday on progress to date on the hospital’s 1994 strategic plan.

Hospital officials also announced measures aimed at improved patient care planned for the coming year.

In January, EMMC expects to open Vascular Care of Maine, the state’s first comprehensive circulatory care program, announced EMMC President Norman Ledwin, now in his 10th year at the helm of the Bangor hospital.

The vascular care center will join a service network that already includes, among others, the Breast & Osteoporosis Center and Cancer Care of Maine, which consolidates oncology services once spread throughout the hospital, he said.

EMMC also has upgraded its cardiac catheterization lab and expects to add a new electrophysiology lab soon. Its positron emission tomography scanner, used to detect abnormal and cancerous structures, is the most active in the state of Maine, Ledwin said.

Ledwin reported that Eastern Maine Healthcare’s Webber III building, which will house 44 physician specialists, is slated to open later next year.

As part of its Patient First initiative, EMMC also is shifting to computerized physician order entry, which Ledwin said represents a $30 million investment.

“We are tracking well compared to the plan,” said Irving Kagan, board chairman for Eastern Maine Healthcare, parent of EMMC.

Ledwin agreed: “I am very pleased with the progress that we’ve made on this strategic plan.”

EMMC now is in the eighth year of a 10-year strategic plan developed by hospital employees, area doctors and other health care providers, to name a few. The plan was designed to prepare for the advent of managed care, possible reforms at the state and national level, and other changes in health care financing. The focus, Ledwin said, has been on “putting the patients first.”

During a news conference in EMMC’s Mason Auditorium, Ledwin reported progress made on four fronts:

. Physician leadership – In 1994, there were no physicians on the hospital’s management team. Today, there are three, with a fourth – a chief medical officer – slated to come on board next year, Ledwin said.

. Physician recruiting – Eight years ago, EMMC had 259 physicians and specialists on its staff, Ledwin said. Today, due to aggressive recruiting, there are 329, for an increase of 24 percent, Ledwin said. He expected the number to continue to grow. EMH invested $4.4 million in recruiting and support last year and has budgeted $8 million this fiscal year.

In other staffing issues, Ledwin said the hospital has increased the number of nurses from 646 in 1994 to the current 918, 779 of them providing direct care. Nursing vacancies at EMMC total 6.3 percent, compared to the national average of 15 percent.

He said EMMC continues to face a shortage of professionals in the areas of pharmacy, physical therapy and radiology.

. Patient access to critical care services – Since launching LifeFlight of Maine four years ago, nearly 700 critically ill patients have been airlifted to EMMC. The hospital also has implemented a trauma response plan under which eight surgeons are available to cover emergencies when private physicians aren’t able.

. Quality – This fall, EMMC voluntarily submitted hospital data to the Leapfrog Group, a national consumer-based quality measurement group, to receive objective feedback about its quality and performance.

Ledwin said the group’s findings show that EMMC ranks favorably when compared to medical centers in major metropolitan areas, such as Boston, Atlanta and Minneapolis.

“The best is not the best for us,” Ledwin said, noting EMMC will continue raising the bar in terms of quality.

Finances currently are in good shape, Ledwin said, noting that EMMC is the only Maine hospital with an A+ credit rating from Standard and Poor’s, a bond rating agency. A June analysis of the company’s financial information found its debt levels were moderate and the outlook was good, with the expectation that management will keep costs low and produce strong profitability.

Despite the changes EMMC has made to improve patient care, Kagan noted that the organization continues to grapple with shrinking reimbursements, rising costs, pressure from area employers to cut healthcare costs and shortages of some types of medical professionals. Meeting the needs of an older, sicker population also has posed challenges.