Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital

12/19/2025

We just wrapped up two weeks of special activities for our staff as we celebrate the amazing work that they do all year long, as well as the holiday season.

From gifts and goodies for our staff, to our annual Chaplains' Christmas Service and going snowshoeing, lots of activities took place to brighten things up for our team during this hectic time of year. We're happy to share a few photos from these fun activities.

Just as exciting and heartwarming was the chance to brighten others' holidays too as our team generously supported a raffle to raise funds for the United Way of Aroostook and our own Giving Tree to support several local families who could use some help with Christmas! We started our Giving Tree effort last year, "adopting" four families to help fill their holiday wish lists. This year we were excited to double that number, helping eight families! It was amazing to see the incredible generosity of the many people who happily joined in this effort. The photos in this post represent just a very small part of the overwhelming number of gifts that were donated, from toys and clothing to gift cards and essentials. A very special thank you to all who support these two efforts.

Happy holidays to all of our team members at AR Gould Hospital, to our patients, and to our friends and neighbors across the region!

12/19/2025

There is still time to honor or remember a loved one through Lights of Life! Your gift will not only brighten Northern Light AR Gould Hospital's tree, but it will also help support care for patients facing cancer in Aroostook County.

Celebrate Your Loved Ones
As a donor, you can honor your loved ones in a meaningful way. Names of honorees will be displayed on our website and at Northern Light AR Gould Hospital. Upon request, you’ll receive a tribute Lights of Life card to share with your honoree(s) or their family.

Every dollar stays local, ensuring your friends and neighbors continue to have access to world-class cancer care, close to home.

Lights may be purchased by going to northernlight.org/ARGouldlights.

12/19/2025

At AR Gould, we donned festive (aka ugly) sweaters last Friday as part of our Holiday Gifts and Goodies Week for our teams. However, we saved the photos to post today, since it is National Ugly Sweater Day. These are just some of the folks who took part.

A special thank you to all who got into the holiday spirit and to those who shared these great photos with us. Be on the lookout soon for more photos from our special holiday activities over the past couple of weeks.

12/18/2025

Please be aware the for the foreseeable future, outpatient lab draw hours on Saturday at Northern Light AR Gould Hospital will be from 9am - 2pm. This later start is due to staffing challenges and allows those working in the lab to accommodate inpatient lab needs before opening to outpatients.

We apologize for any inconvenience and will let you know when normal Saturday hours are resumed. If you need an early morning lab draw, please note that the lab draw station at the hospital opens at 6am on weekdays.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

12/18/2025

We are happy to welcome Jason Kaiser, MD, a general surgeon, to our Surgery team at Northern Light AR Gould Hospital!

Dr. Kaiser earned his medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He completed his General Surgery internship and residency at National Capital Consortium (Walter Reed National Military Medical Center) in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Kaiser is board certified in General Surgery by the American Board of Surgery, is a Fellow of the American Board of Surgeons, and is certified in robotic surgery. He also holds a Master of Science in Biomechanical Engineering (MSE) and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa prior to attending medical school.

He has previous surgical experience at Surgery Associates of York Hospital in Maine, the US Naval Hospital at Camp Pendelton in California, and the US Naval Hospital in Guam.

With his background in engineering, he was drawn to surgery since he likes the combination of doing hands-on procedures as well as taking care of patients.

Dr. Kaiser will be splitting his time between AR Gould Hospital in Presque Isle and Northern Light Mayo Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft.

Welcome, Dr. Kaiser!

12/13/2025

We had a nice visit today with Santa, one of his elves, and their "responsible adult" (according to our Shriner friends). They visited each of the inpatient units, bringing some holiday cheer to patients and staff. Thank you to the Shriners for always taking the time to visit hospitals, nursing homes, and other places to share some joy and smiles during the holidays.

12/12/2025

12/12/2025

Our annual Holiday Raffle to benefit the United Way of Aroostook ends today at noon. During this fundraiser, staff from various departments across the organization chip together to donate themed gift baskets or items. Employees and community members can then purchase tickets to put in the buckets of the items they want to win. This has been a tradition for many years as part of our United Way employee campaign.

If you bought tickets or just want to check out the items and watch the drawings, we will be doing it FB live, starting shortly before noon. We invite those who are interested to join us. All winners will be contacted directly after the event via the phone number they provided on their ticket.

12/05/2025

Thank you to the members of our staff, board, and community who braved the cold last night to join us in our Lights of Life tree lighting ceremony! The ceremony was extra short in deference to the cold, but heartwarming, nonetheless.

Thank you to Donna Lisnik and her family for being on hand to throw the switch to light the tree. Donna also shared some very kind words about the Cancer Care team and her experiences there. Donna purchased the star on this year's tree in memory of her husband, John Lisnik.

Also speaking briefly were Dr. Jay Reynolds, hospital president, and Dr. Lukas Emery, oncologist and medical lead over our Cancer Care practice.

A special thanks to our team who braved the cold longer than everyone else, setting up and breaking down the refreshments area (hot cocoa, hot cider, and homemade treats for the win!), the fire pit area, and the sound system: Linda Menard, Julie Plummer, Jill Thibeau, and members of our facilities team. Special thanks as well to Laura Turner, who coordinated the event as part of the annual Lights of Life fundraiser supporting cancer care.

As you may have noticed from the photo, there was a last-minute challenge with some of the strings of light, despite previous testing. This will be fixed soon, so the tree can shine even brighter!

12/03/2025

We were recently made aware of a situation that led to confusion with attempting to pay a bill to Northern Light AR Gould Hospital online. An online search included options besides our website (where a direct, secure payment can be made). Unfortunately, other options were sites that collect payments, charge a fee, and then disperse the payment to the appropriate entity.

For any Northern Light Health bill, simply go to our official website, northernlighthealth.org, and a link to pay your bill is located at the top of the page. This will bring you to an option of paying online for a specific hospital; there is NO fee to make this payment online. The site will also provide you with appropriate mailing addresses for each hospital if you prefer to mail your bill, as well as billing phone numbers for any questions you may have.

Payment information is also provided on every bill you receive from us.

Please use caution when paying bills online, and make sure you are at the correct address for the business or organization you are trying to pay.

12/02/2025

We invite you to join us this Thursday, December 4, at 5pm as we hold this year's Lights of Life tree lighting ceremony in front of the hospital. The event will include hot cocoa and hot apple cider, as well as homemade goodies from the Cancer Care team. There will be a brief ceremony followed by the official lighting of the tree for the season.

It promises to be particularly cold on Thursday, so please be sure to dress for the weather, and we will be sure to keep things brief to get people out of the cold as soon as possible.

Our Lights of Life program is an annual fundraising campaign that raises money to support cancer care services and cancer patients at AR Gould, while providing a way to honor or remember those who have been touched by cancer. If you are interested in purchasing one or more lights in honor or memory of a loved one, you can do so here: https://give.northernlighthealth.org/event/northern-light-ar-gould-lights-of-life-2025/e740386

11/27/2025

🦃Happy Thanksgiving from Northern Light AR Gould Hospital 🦃

This Thanksgiving, we are grateful for our patients, employees, and community. Thank you for trusting us with your care throughout the year!

Please note that our outpatient practices and services will be closed today (Nov. 27) for the holiday. This is also one of the two designated days of the year that our Walk-In Care clinics are also closed. As always, our Emergency Department remains open 24/7 for those needing urgent care.

Those planning to visit a patient in the hospital on Thanksgiving should enter through the Emergency Department entrance.

Wishing you and your family a safe, healthy, and happy Thanksgiving 🍂🧡