MRH announces two additions to its MRH Primary Care staff
By Shelley Farrington Lincoln News • July 29, 2021
MILLINOCKET – Millinocket Regional Hospital announces two additions to its MRH Primary Care staff.
Dr. Alexandra Idenburg specializes in family medicine and has 20 years’ experience caring for patients of all ages, which will continue to be her focus at MRH. According to a press release from MRH she is passionate about rural healthcare and has a special interest in depression, dementia, diabetes and cardiovascular health. She’s worked in private practice, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.
In addition to practicing medicine, Dr. Idenburg is also passionate about teaching and has served as a professor at Beal College and a preceptor for Tufts University School of Medicine. She joined the MRH Primary Care in June is currently accepting patients
Primary Care is also welcoming East Millinocket native Travis Cramp, PA-C to the practice. Cramp grew up in East Millinocket and graduated from Schenck High School and is a recent graduate of Springfield College’s Physician Assistant program. Cramp said he jumped at the chance to come home and practice medicine.
“There is something about having familiar faces at the bank, at the doctor’s office, and in the grocery store that can’t be replaced by what bigger communities have to offer,” he said. “The people of Maine are tightly knit and that was something I missed and appreciated more and more the longer that I was away. Working in a small community hospital like MRH gives me the opportunity to provide highly personalized care to the local people of the Katahdin region, both familiar faces and new faces. I couldn’t be more excited to return to the area to begin seeing patients.”
Dr. Idenburg completed her medical training in The Netherlands and practiced in the United Kingdom before she and husband, Dr. MH Niayesh, decided to move to Maine seven years ago. They have four children and call Detroit, Maine, “home.” Dr. Idenburg has strong roots in her home country and vacations at her home in Holland each summer.
Dr. MH Niayesh, has also joined the MRH family and is practicing at Millinocket Surgical Associates.
Cramp completed 12 intense months of clinical rotations throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut working in internal medicine, general surgery, primary care, pediatrics, women’s health and inpatient addiction medicine. For his elective rotation, he chose to work in a community hospital as part of the medicine team; overseeing care of more acutely ill patients. He said “I really hit my stride when I stepped into the primary care setting” and discovered “this is exactly where I need to be.”
Greg Marter, RN, RRT, Practice Manager for MRH Physician & Surgical Practices said the addition of Dr. Idenburg and Cramp increases the hospital’s ability to provide healthcare services to the region.
“We are very fortunate and excited to have the opportunity to add a qualified provider and an MD to our Primary Care practice,” Marter said. “The addition of both Travis and Dr. Idenburg will raise the bar for the quality of care we are able to provide to Millinocket and the surrounding communities.”
Marter added that the addition of Cramp and Dr. Idenburg comes at a time when Kelly Gardner, PA-C, is leaving he practice to accepted a job within the VA system. Gardner began her healthcare career as a speech language pathologist working with veterans and is grateful for the opportunity to return to the VA system to serve veterans. Her last day will be July 29.
“This is a great opportunity for Kelly,” Marter said. “She worked in the VA system prior to pursuing her physician assistant career, and always wanted to return to the VA when that opportunity presented. We wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
Patients of Gardner’s who have not yet made arrangements for a new provider should contact the primary care office at 723-3329.