BAR HARBOR — Mount Desert Island Hospital is pleased to announce that Bob and Arlene Kogod of Washington, D.C. and Seal Harbor have made a generous pledge to support rural medical education on MDI.

“The Kogod Family Center for Medical Education, with its innovative educational curriculum, will position Mount Desert Island Hospital as a transformational leader in rural medical education,” said Arthur J. Blank, president/CEO of MDI Hospital. “The Kogod Center will proudly anchor the future of MDI Hospital’s Medical Education programs and offer dedicated student housing and conference space for the next generation of medical providers on MDI.”

As longtime residents of Seal Harbor, the Kogod family has supported a broad range of philanthropic initiatives on Mount Desert Island, demonstrating their strong attachment to this region. In recent years, they have made significant gifts to MDI Hospital’s Community Dental Center and Penn Medicine Collaborative. For more than 20 years, Bob and Arlene have been dedicated donors to MDI Hospital’s Annual Fund, enabling growth and progress on many fronts.

In making their new pledge to establish the Kogod Center, Bob Kogod said, “We are very happy to partner with MDI Hospital in its vitally important work to provide healthcare and advance medical education to this community.”

A reality for Maine’s rural healthcare organizations, including MDI Hospital, are looming shortages of physicians and other skilled clinical staff. For example, nationally, the overall shortage of physicians is 4,000 and growing, concentrated in rural areas.

MDI Hospital’s response to this challenge has been ongoing: building coalitions with university and hospital partners to introduce the next generation of caregivers to a rewarding, distinctive rural healthcare environment. To date, the hospital’s medical education collaborations and partnerships include Tufts University School of Medicine, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, The Jackson Laboratory, Penn Medicine, Maine Medical Center, University of New England, University of Maine, St. Joseph’s College and College of the Atlantic.

“By providing a centralized space for medical students and residents, The Kogod Family Center for Medical Education will bring more doctors, physician’s assistants, nurses, behavioral and music therapists, pharmacists and other professionals to the Island to practice medicine,” said Blank. “It will also ensure that they learn about community healthcare in the best possible place, with caring mentors and a welcoming population of patients and neighbors.”

The Kogod Center will be constructed utilizing green building and architecture standards on the hospital’s main campus in Bar Harbor. The center will house eight students at a time, with conference, gathering and dining space, as well as program support offices. Construction is estimated to begin in the coming months.

About Mount Desert Island Hospital — Mount Desert Island Hospital serves the close-knit island and surrounding communities through a 25-bed critical access facility in Bar Harbor and a network of area health centers—all designed to provide comprehensive healthcare for residents and visitors.

Since it was established in 1897, the nonprofit hospital has grown into a premier rural healthcare organization with a retirement community and eight regional health centers, including a full-service behavioral health center and a dental clinic. Today, MDI Hospital employs more than 500 people and is the second-largest employer on MDI.

The mission of MDI Hospital is to provide compassionate care and strengthen the health of its community by embracing tomorrow’s methods and respecting time-honored values.

For more information and the latest updates, visit http://www.mdihospital.org.