Wellness Program
The Care You Need, Close to Home.
Mount Desert Island Hospital’s Wellness Program is designed to provide support and guidance for people who want to lead a vigorous, healthy life. The program’s signature activity is the award-winning spring and fall Walks in the Park Series, a schedule of fitness walks for all levels, in and around scenic Acadia National Park. As the distance of walks gradually expands each week, so does participant fitness and the social bonds made during these fun, invigorating outings.
The Wellness Program also holds various community health clinics including monthly free blood pressure screenings, low cost flu shot clinics, free smoking cessation sessions, diabetes prevention program classes and an annual Health Fair that brings together health and fitness organizations on and around the MDI region to highlight their services. Our wellness coaches also lead a variety of community health classes, such as senior exercise classes and weight and interval training for all ages, chronic pain management classes and more.
Our Office
10 Wayman Lane
Bar Harbor, ME 04609
288-5081, ext 7805
“We have one of the most spectacular parks in the world AS OUR BACKYARD and this series takes full advantage of our very own outdoors!”
MDI Hospital
MDI Hospital
10 Wayman Lane
Bar Harbor, ME 04609
207 288-5081
At Mount Desert Island Hospital, we provide comprehensive care for you and your family through our hospital in Bar Harbor and a network of health centers across Mount Desert Island.
Meet Our Health & Wellness Team
Laura Driscoll, CHC, CHES
Health Coach
Care Philosophy: “I meet patients where they are and motivate them to become a better version of themselves.”
Laura’s health interests and expertise include exercise prescription, meal planning, portion control, accountability, dietary changes that improve quality of life with a chronic disease, goal setting, weight loss, smoking cessation, and stress management. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, a Certified Health Education Specialist, and a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).
She enjoys working with her clients to overcome barriers and find their way to optimal health. “Having the opportunity to work with the patients in our community makes my day every day. I love being able to play a role in the improvement of someone’s health and quality of life – I can’t think of a better way to spend my time!”
The most common barrier Laura encounters is motivation. “More often than not, people find the accountability to the coach the most important component to achieving their health and wellness goals,” she says. “As coaches, we also help to build motivation by asking the right questions to uncover what underlying motivation can empower our clients, such as quality of life, family, etc.”
Laura provides her patients with individual support and specific tools to assist them in making changes to their lifestyles to improve their health and quality of life. To her, it’s about establishing a starting point and then taking small steps in the right direction. She finds that these small steps can add up to significant health benefits.
Prior to joining MDI Hospital, Laura worked as a Fitness Specialist in Bangor where she trained State of Maine employees. Outside of work, she enjoys running, hiking, paddle boarding, and traveling.
Care Philosophy: “I meet patients where they are and motivate them to become a better version of themselves.”
Laura’s health interests and expertise include exercise prescription, meal planning, portion control, accountability, dietary changes that improve quality of life with a chronic disease, goal setting, weight loss, smoking cessation, and stress management. She is a Certified Personal Trainer, a Certified Health Education Specialist, and a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).
She enjoys working with her clients to overcome barriers and find their way to optimal health. “Having the opportunity to work with the patients in our community makes my day every day. I love being able to play a role in the improvement of someone’s health and quality of life – I can’t think of a better way to spend my time!”
The most common barrier Laura encounters is motivation. “More often than not, people find the accountability to the coach the most important component to achieving their health and wellness goals,” she says. “As coaches, we also help to build motivation by asking the right questions to uncover what underlying motivation can empower our clients, such as quality of life, family, etc.”
Laura provides her patients with individual support and specific tools to assist them in making changes to their lifestyles to improve their health and quality of life. To her, it’s about establishing a starting point and then taking small steps in the right direction. She finds that these small steps can add up to significant health benefits.
Prior to joining MDI Hospital, Laura worked as a Fitness Specialist in Bangor where she trained State of Maine employees. Outside of work, she enjoys running, hiking, paddle boarding, and traveling.
Laura Driscoll, CHC, CHES
Health Coach
Sarah O’Neil, BUS, CHC
Health Coach
Care Philosophy: “I believe everyone is unique and knows what they need to do for their health. I support patients in obtaining lighter bodies and clear minds to thrive through daily habits. Coaching sessions address all of the four pillars of health: Eat Well, Move More, Stress Less and Sleep Well. Together, we review healthy options and set achievable Action Plans. With evidence-based practice standards, we address motivation and roadblocks to success. I believe simple everyday shifts in behavior bring powerful lasting lifestyle change in real-time and at the patient’s own pace.”
Sarah O’Neil is a Certified Health Coach specializing in mindfulness education, yoga, meditation, and healthy kitchen routines. Her wellness interests and expertise include meeting people where they are, and the exploration of how daily routines, seasonal eating, intermittent movement, and attitude shape a person’s health and happiness. She also has a strong interest in brain health and neuroscience, new research on circadian code and clock genes, kitchen medicine, real food movements, and the science of habit change.
As a health coach, Sarah works with patients to make lifestyle and daily habits changes at their own pace. “Simple changes lead to powerful results. Studies show eighty percent of all chronic health issues are connected to diet and lifestyle. I enjoy working through the lens of better body and lifestyle habits with curiosity,” she says. It’s fun supporting people with their personal goals for health and wellness. A reoccurring theme in coaching is ‘I want to feel better, have more energy and look good.’ I love investigating these motivators as anchors in accountability for success.”
Sarah holds a Bachelor of University Studies in Health and Wellness, is a Certified Health Coach, a Mindful Life Coach and a Growth Mindset Coach. She is certified by the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching.
As a naturalist who loves the ocean, MDI is a great fit for Sarah. She first came to MDI from New Mexico and credits the natural beauty of Acadia National Park and her husband for keeping her here. “As Acadia is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, it was love at first sight, oh, and my amazing husband.”
Her outside interests include Ayurveda, yoga, nature, dance and delicious food.
Care Philosophy: “I believe everyone is unique and knows what they need to do for their health. I support patients in obtaining lighter bodies and clear minds to thrive through daily habits. Coaching sessions address all of the four pillars of health: Eat Well, Move More, Stress Less and Sleep Well. Together, we review healthy options and set achievable Action Plans. With evidence-based practice standards, we address motivation and roadblocks to success. I believe simple everyday shifts in behavior bring powerful lasting lifestyle change in real-time and at the patient’s own pace.”
Sarah O’Neil is a Certified Health Coach specializing in mindfulness education, yoga, meditation, and healthy kitchen routines. Her wellness interests and expertise include meeting people where they are, and the exploration of how daily routines, seasonal eating, intermittent movement, and attitude shape a person’s health and happiness. She also has a strong interest in brain health and neuroscience, new research on circadian code and clock genes, kitchen medicine, real food movements, and the science of habit change.
As a health coach, Sarah works with patients to make lifestyle and daily habits changes at their own pace. “Simple changes lead to powerful results. Studies show eighty percent of all chronic health issues are connected to diet and lifestyle. I enjoy working through the lens of better body and lifestyle habits with curiosity,” she says. It’s fun supporting people with their personal goals for health and wellness. A reoccurring theme in coaching is ‘I want to feel better, have more energy and look good.’ I love investigating these motivators as anchors in accountability for success.”
Sarah holds a Bachelor of University Studies in Health and Wellness, is a Certified Health Coach, a Mindful Life Coach and a Growth Mindset Coach. She is certified by the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching.
As a naturalist who loves the ocean, MDI is a great fit for Sarah. She first came to MDI from New Mexico and credits the natural beauty of Acadia National Park and her husband for keeping her here. “As Acadia is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, it was love at first sight, oh, and my amazing husband.”
Her outside interests include Ayurveda, yoga, nature, dance and delicious food.
Sarah O’Neil, BUS, CHC
Health Coach
Mary Parham, BA
Community Health Educator
Care philosophy: “One of our core values at MDI Hospital is community. Our commitment is to both serve our community and be active members in our community. Serving others has always been one of my personal core values, so I feel very fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful, caring organization, especially in the capacity of Community Health Educator.”
Mary Parham, Community Health Educator for MDI Hospital, has been a part of the health and wellness field for many years. Before joining MDI Hospital in 2018, Mary worked in wellness at the Jackson Laboratory. She has always had a passion for helping others achieve their health and wellness goals. In her teen years, she worked as a camp counselor, lifeguard and swim instructor at her local YMCA in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Later, she taught fitness classes in Chicago, Denver and Charleston, South Carolina. She went on to work as Branch Director and Aquatics Director for the Virginia YMCA.
As MDI Hospital’s Community Health Educator, Mary works with a variety of health and wellness providers to bring health and wellness activities to the community—in the form of exercise classes, diabetes education, health coaching, a walking program in Acadia National Park and more. “I am very excited to work with the Care Management team to promote individual and community wellness,” she says. “Care Managers work with patients outside of their doctor’s office and serve many purposes—community outreach, home health and hospice, speech therapy and dietician/health coaching to name a few.”
Mary is a YMCA certified group fitness instructor and swim instructor, as well as a Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Coach. She and her husband first moved to MDI in 2016 when her husband was hired as the CEO/Executive Director of the MDI YMCA in Bar Harbor. Mary and her husband had previously worked to open a new YMCA in southwest Virginia and after having established a strong three-branch operation there, and they wanted to finish her husband’s YMCA career on a high note with a New England adventure. “We love it here, and not only because it is so beautiful—the people are wonderful! It is a perfect fit,” she says.
Outside of work, Mary and her husband love cycling and kayaking. She is also an avid reader and looks forward to exploring more of Acadia each year, both on foot and by bike.
Care philosophy: “One of our core values at MDI Hospital is community. Our commitment is to both serve our community and be active members in our community. Serving others has always been one of my personal core values, so I feel very fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful, caring organization, especially in the capacity of Community Health Educator.”
Mary Parham, Community Health Educator for MDI Hospital, has been a part of the health and wellness field for many years. Before joining MDI Hospital in 2018, Mary worked in wellness at the Jackson Laboratory. She has always had a passion for helping others achieve their health and wellness goals. In her teen years, she worked as a camp counselor, lifeguard and swim instructor at her local YMCA in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Later, she taught fitness classes in Chicago, Denver and Charleston, South Carolina. She went on to work as Branch Director and Aquatics Director for the Virginia YMCA.
As MDI Hospital’s Community Health Educator, Mary works with a variety of health and wellness providers to bring health and wellness activities to the community—in the form of exercise classes, diabetes education, health coaching, a walking program in Acadia National Park and more. “I am very excited to work with the Care Management team to promote individual and community wellness,” she says. “Care Managers work with patients outside of their doctor’s office and serve many purposes—community outreach, home health and hospice, speech therapy and dietician/health coaching to name a few.”
Mary is a YMCA certified group fitness instructor and swim instructor, as well as a Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Coach. She and her husband first moved to MDI in 2016 when her husband was hired as the CEO/Executive Director of the MDI YMCA in Bar Harbor. Mary and her husband had previously worked to open a new YMCA in southwest Virginia and after having established a strong three-branch operation there, and they wanted to finish her husband’s YMCA career on a high note with a New England adventure. “We love it here, and not only because it is so beautiful—the people are wonderful! It is a perfect fit,” she says.
Outside of work, Mary and her husband love cycling and kayaking. She is also an avid reader and looks forward to exploring more of Acadia each year, both on foot and by bike.