Meet Board Member - Dr. Pete Tilney

My name is Pete Tilney. I work as an emergency physician in the Central Maine Healthcare System where I divide my time between clinical shifts and working as a Medical Director for the CONNECT Transfer Center at CMMC and as a Medical Director for LifeFlight of Maine. I believe I bring a unique perspective to the Maine Stroke Association (MSA) as I began my career in prehospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) at the age of 16 and have been involved in EMS in Maine for the last 30 years. I began as an EMT in a rural service in southern Maine and eventually worked as a flight paramedic at LifeFlight. After several years working in air medicine, I was fortunate enough to go to medical school at University of New England College of Medicine (UNECOM) in Biddeford and train as an emergency physician. Several years after residency, I returned to Maine to work as the medical director at LifeFlight. I have been working in my current role for greater than a decade. My role as an emergency medicine physician along with my out-of-hospital experience in a variety of transport modalities (ground, water, and airplanes/ helicopters) has enabled me to provide a valuable perspective as we continue to develop a cohesive strategy around the management and care around cerebral vascular disease in this state. I believe that hospitals and EMS staff must work in concert in order that the residents of this state receive the most current treatment modalities available in the treatment of stroke.

Not only have I provided care to many patients with different types of cerebral vascular accidents during my tenure as a medical provider, but additionally, my mother suffered from an ischemic stroke several years ago which left her with a variety of deficits. Having both professional and personal experience with members of my own family experiencing this type of illness, it is my hope as a member of the Maine Stroke Alliance (MSA) that we can continue to cement policies and develop strategies for patients living in this region to minimize the effects of this type of disease.