Peter W. Bates is senior vice president, chief medical officer, and academic dean at Maine Medical Center. He was instrumental in the creation of the Maine Track medical school partnership between Maine Medical Center and the Tufts University School of Medicine. The program provides access for qualified Maine students to a high-quality and affordable medical education, and it has engaged over 40 Maine health care organizations in the educational process. In 2015, the third class of physicians will graduate from the program, and while there are measureable results, the program has also sparked energy and innovation at Maine Medical Center and in the health care community. “Education can be a unifying and uplifting experience for learner and teacher, as well as facilitating needed transformation in health care and society in general,” says Bates. “I’d like to see the state of Maine benefit more from these kind of opportunities.” Bates has been honored with the Maine Chapter of the American College of Physicians’ Laureate Award in 2010 and Maine Medical Association’s President’s Award for Distinguished Service in 2011. “My goal is simply to try to make a difference both in the health of Maine citizens and the health care they receive,” says Bates. “There’s lots of opportunity to do so and I enjoy working with colleagues who imagine and work towards a time when everyone in Maine has access to the very best health care.”