Dr. Steven Diaz, Chief Medical Officer of MaineGeneral Health

By Rachel Hurn

As chief medical officer at MaineGeneral Health, the healthcare system serving the greater Kennebec Valley, Dr. Steven Diaz has worked throughout the pandemic to keep his community safe. Networking with chief medical officers throughout Maine, Diaz acted as an advisor on COVID-19-related issues to the state, area colleges and businesses, and, perhaps most important, grade schools. “Delivering just-in-time, key public health messages via Zoom, radio, and other platforms has helped the public to make the best decisions for themselves and their families, and has hopefully helped people understand the ‘why’ of many initiatives,” says Diaz. In addition to his work at MaineGeneral, he is also the chair of the Maine Hospital Association and is an EMS medical director for Delta Ambulance, which provides full-spectrum emergency medical services. “The Delta Ambulance partnership with area hospitals and nursing homes has been a key component of our community weathering the pandemic so well,” he says. Diaz’s belief in coordinated care has only grown since the pandemic started. He is proud of having helped MaineGeneral to launch an addiction medicine practice. “The opiate epidemic continues to ravage our communities in Maine,” he says. “We have long recognized that coordinated care is important to meet people where they are and provide them individualized care.”