Eastern Maine Medical Center has a new president

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Changes are coming to the leadership of one County hospital.

“If you care about people and you build trust with people they will get you where you need to go,” said Greg LaFrancois, A.R. Gould Hospital president.

LaFrancois has been the president of Northern Light Health AR Gould Hospital for the past six years. On Tuesday, it was announced that he would be leaving his position and taking on a new role as the president of Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, a role he is looking forward to.

”In my career field this would be the pinnacle. I was in the Army for 20 years and when I retired I said, what is my goal in the new world in the civilian world? This was it, this is about the size of Walter Reed Medical Center which is our Flagship for the whole of the Army and I thought if I could lead that type of organization, that would be a career goal,” LaFrancois said.

In his tenure at AR Gould, LaFrancois says one of the things he enjoyed was the unique work ethic that people in the county possess.

“The overarching thing that I would say is to watch people develop. I saw young folks come in at entry level positions and go to school and become an RN and go on to take a leadership role with us. I’ve seen folks come in young and then found myself relying on them,” LaFrancois said.

As far as who will lead AR Gould, LaFrancois thinks they will be in good hands.

“We’ve got Dr. Reynolds that’s going to take on the interim duties and he is a rockstar. He, myself and Darrell Bouche we make virtually all of the decisions together. There wont be a ripple in the water we are going to move forward under his leadership. We’ll do a search and we’ll find a replacement and I have no doubt that our board will make sure that replacement fits our hospital,” said LaFrancois.

LaFrancois adds that in addition to the people of the County, he will also miss the natural beauty.

Greg” The hardest thing for me is, I love to ride a bicycle, and when I clear the top of a hill and the valley opens up in front of me and I see all of Aroostook County, I love it and I will be back,” LaFrancois said.

LaFrancois will assume his new role on July 1.

Copyright 2023 WABI. All rights reserved.