Senator Collins Delivers Keynote Address at Cary Medical Center 100th Anniversary Celebration

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Caribou, ME – Last night, U.S. Senator Susan Collins delivered the keynote address during the 100th anniversary celebration for Cary Medical Center in Caribou. The Caribou Medical Center Board of Directors, dozens of hospital staff, and community members were in attendance for the event. The first Cary Memorial Hospital was built in 1924 thanks to a generous donation by Dr. Jefferson Cary. In 1978, a new Cary Medical Center was built where the hospital is today.

“My family, like so many others in Aroostook County, has close ties to Cary,” Senator Collins said during her remarks. “My father served as chairman of the board of directors and actually signed the mortgage when the new hospital was built. Decades later, my brother Gregg chaired the board, and today my niece Clara is a board member. For many years, my uncle, Doug Collins, an internist, practiced medicine in Caribou and at Cary. The wonderfully compassionate and skilled health care providers at Cary cared for both of my parents during the final days of their lives. I am personally grateful for the leadership of all who have served in this outstanding community hospital.”

“More than a century has passed since Dr. Jefferson Cary practiced medicine, and he could not have foreseen the dramatic advances in health care since that time. But he had a vision that his generous gift to the community would benefit future generations,” she continued. “Thanks to the efforts of so many, including all of you in this room, that vision is a reality. My congratulations to Cary Medical Center for 100 years of going above and beyond, and my best wishes for the years to come.”

As the Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins successfully secured nearly $10 million in the Fiscal Year 2024 funding bill to help Cary Medical Center upgrade their medical records system. In August, Senator Collins advanced nearly $9 million in Congressionally Directed Spending to support the relocation and construction of Pines Health Services Health Center on the Cary Medical Center campus. This legislation now awaits consideration by the full Senate and House.

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