Contact: Caroline Cornish
207-662-5146 / caroline.cornish@mainehealth.org
PORTLAND, Maine – Maine Medical Center (MMC) has received a $1 million pledge from Jon and Dan Shaw, founders of Shaw Brothers Construction. In recognition and appreciation, MMC will name the open air causeway — to be constructed on Congress Street in front of a new patient care tower — in honor of Sally Shaw, Jon and Dan Shaw’s late mother. The contribution is the single largest commitment in the Shaw Brothers’ philanthropic history.
“Jon and Dan are incredibly generous people who are deeply committed to this community. We’re exceptionally grateful for the support they have shown over the years that has helped lay the groundwork for environments of care that improve the health of people throughout Maine and New Hampshire,” said MMC CEO and MaineHealth President Richard Petersen. “This important contribution will move us closer to our vision of making Maine’s communities the healthiest in America.”
The Sally Shaw Causeway is designed to be a welcoming space for the approximately 24,000 patients and families who are expected to pass through the entrance to MMC’s new Congress Street Tower each year once construction is complete in 2023. The beautiful, tree-lined sloping path will include native plants and boulders, and natural seating will provide fresh air and sunshine to all those spending time at the hospital. It also will serve as an inviting gateway to MMC’s vibrant Congress Street neighborhood.
MMC chose to honor the memory of Sally Shaw with this natural setting because of her love of gardening, and the feel and smell of soil. Sally Shaw was known to can vegetables and share perennials with her family and friends, even as she raised nine children on a farm in Gorham with her husband, Dewayn, who was her high school sweetheart. Her sons, Jon and Dan Shaw, have focused many of their philanthropic efforts towards facilitating ways for community members to enjoy the outdoors.
Maine Medical Center is expected to break ground on the Congress Street Tower and causeway this fall. The patient care tower will add five floors of clinical services including 64 patient rooms with universal beds and 19 procedure rooms. The tower will become the new home of cardiovascular care at MMC. This vision for patient-centered care that serves Maine’s most complex cases in a state of the art setting resonated with Shaw Brothers Construction and their desire to see all Mainers receive the care they require.
“Maine Medical Center has been there for our employees, our families and for anyone who needs quality medical care,” said Jon Shaw. Dan Shaw added, “Shaw Brothers Construction is proud to support MMC’s modernization while honoring our mother. We believe that The Sally Shaw Causeway will serve as a living testament to her love for family, gardening, and community.”
The Congress Street Tower expansion project was unanimously approved in December 2018 by the Portland Planning Board as part of the third site plan application under MMC’s $534 million expansion and modernization project. Overall, the entire project will add 128 private rooms, add 19 procedure rooms for surgeries and other complex treatments, and provide additional parking for patients, visitors and staff. It will also create a modern, state-of-the-art medical office building allowing MMC and Maine Medical Partners to further develop its ambulatory care practices in Scarborough, convenient and easily accessible for patients and their families.
In recognition for all the service provided over the years by Shaw Brothers Construction on Maine Medical Center campuses, MMC also will be naming a new road in their honor on the Scarborough campus. Shaw Brothers Way will lead patients to the new medical office building currently under construction that will house neurology, neurosurgery and vascular surgery. The new medical office building is on schedule for completion in early 2021.
Shaw Brothers has received two competitively bid sub-contracts on MMC’s facility project. The awards were based on safety record, pricing and local hiring.
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About Maine Medical Center
Maine Medical Center (MMC), recognized as a Best Regional Hospital by U.S. News and World Report for 2020-2021, is a complete health care resource for the people of Greater Portland and the entire state, as well as northern New England. Incorporated in 1868, MMC is the state’s largest medical center, licensed for 637 beds and employing more than 9,600 people. MMC's unique role as both a community hospital and a referral center requires an unparalleled depth and breadth of services, including an active educational program and a world-class biomedical research center. As a nonprofit institution, Maine Medical Center provides nearly 23 percent of all the charity care delivered in Maine. MMC is part of the MaineHealth system, a growing family of health care services in northern New England. For more information, visit www.mmc.org.
About Shaw Brothers Construction
Shaw Brothers began with two brothers, two employees, one backhoe and a handshake—and it began with the same principles that it lives by today: work hard, satisfy the customer and respect the people you work with. Since then, Shaw Brothers Construction has grown into one of Maine’s largest earthwork contractors, with more than 250 employees and hundreds of pieces of equipment. Having completed thousands of commercial projects ranging from $5,000 to $30 million and spanning a roughly 100-mile radius around Portland, ME, Jon and Dan continue to schedule and direct day-to-day operations. For more information, visit www.shawbrothers.com.