Patients, staff, volunteers, and supporters gathered at Archie’s Lobster Pound to celebrate and raise funds for the nonprofit that has helped neighbors heal for generations.
Jun 27, 2026
TREMONT—During the Mount Desert Nursing Association’s fundraising event in the giant structure of Archie’s Lobster Pound, one woman leaned in and whispered, “They were a lifesaver.”
Another’s husband stopped mid-stride and enthused, “I cannot rave enough about them, what they’ve done for my wife, for us.”
The things the association does—the staff, the community that helps it financially survive, the volunteers—it’s their why.
Their why, a term coined by Simon Sinek about inspirational leadership, is the driving force in the things that the association does, the care it gives to the community.
They live it every day.
You could see that at the event at Archie’s. You could see that in the joy in the hugs, the deep talks, even in the way people helped their picnic table neighbors crack lobsters.
According to its website, the “Mount Desert Nursing Association (MDNA) provides in-home nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and a lending library of medical equipment to Mount Desert Island, Trenton, and Lamoine.”
That, however, is website words.
At the association’s second annual Lobstah Fest at Archie’s Lobster, the work came to life.
Staff and nurses hugged people who were mending or have mended. Friends and donors hugged each other too. Lobsters were cracked. Jerry Miller helped raise money. Nurses poured wine. And Archie’s owners sat in another building after cooking well over 140 lobsters, hoping that it was all going okay.
It was.
It was going better than okay.
“Last night as I was thinking about what to say today,” Executive Director Amy McVety said, she read a Facebook post about Simon Sinek. “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.”
She knew her why. Everyone in Archie’s did.
“We’re here because we believe that every single person deserves care,” McVety said. “To be in their home where they live.”
“It’s not glitzy. It’s not glamorous. But it’s so important,” McVety said.
They help.
“The people on MDI are so blessed to have such an outstanding nursing association as you. You give so much to so many! Thank you very much for all your help,” according to one patient testimonial in 2024.
Another patient said, “All three of my clinicians helped me so much and made me feel as if ‘Yes! I can care for myself and continue to stay strong.’ I love them all and I thank them all.”
The people at Archie’s, the sponsors, donors, board members, volunteers help them do that. As do the area towns who each give some support to the organization.
Staff drive to homes. As gas prices increase, so do their cost. Poster boards explained the impact of $250 is 345 miles of driving through the region to help give people care. $170 supported one week of medical supplies, while just over $8k, supported supplies for a year. Employees use cell phones to stay connected to patients and work. Approximately $600 pays for one clinician’s plan for a year.
Archie’s hosted (Heather Lewis ran the organization until 2021 and it has a place close to her heart.) while Bar Harbor Bank & Trust , Machias Savings Bank and Versant Power were main sponsors of the event.
“Your generosity helps ensure compassionate care at home for our community,” the agency posted.
The difference the association makes and the care it gives matters to a community like Mount Desert Island and beyond. It helps people stay with their families, outside of hospitals. It helps people heal.
In the late 1800s, the American Red Cross established chapters throughout the country to provide in-home nursing care and to train people to do the same.
In Mount Desert, that chapter began in the 1920s. By 1931, they had enough funds and organization to begin a headquarters at 12 Summit Road in Northeast Harbor.
According to the organization’s website, “With its new headquarters, the Red Cross was able to provide more consistent nursing care and act as the ‘town nurse’ through WWI and WWII, until 1948, when the Red Cross changed its mission to a focus on responding to disasters, and swimming/life-saving instruction.”
The community didn’t want to lose its town nurses so in 1949, it founded the Mount Desert Public Health Nursing Association.
The governing rules stipulated that “no Mount Desert resident would be denied services based on ability to pay.”
By the 1980s, the agency evolved into the Mount Desert Nursing Association (MDNA).
In the next two decades, schools hired their own nurses. The Association became a nonprofit, 501c(3), and it began serving more towns: all of MDI and the outer islands.
“In 2017, MDNA began accepting Medicare, and in 2018 began offering occupational therapy in addition to skilled nursing care. In 2023, we expanded our geographic service area to include the neighboring towns of Lamoine and Trenton. Across the street from Mount Desert Elementary School and the Northeast Harbor Public Library, the white house with the red door is where we continue our work today of keeping patients healthy at home,” the agency writes.
It’s a long history of people doing good.
It’s a long history of people finding that “why,” McVety spoke toward.
Their “why” is about that healing. It’s about health. It’s also about independence.
As the website explains, “At MDNA, our staff is committed to providing quality and affordable health care services to those who are homebound and living on Mount Desert Island, Trenton, and Lamoine. We do so by partnering with you, your Maine PCP/healthcare provider, and care management team. We also provide you and your family with a mutually agreed upon patient-centered plan of care. Our team assists you in recovery and maintenance by helping you remain healthy and safe in your own home. Lastly, we offer you and your family preventative health care services through individual or group sessions.”
They do that with skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupation therapy. They do that with a lending closet (So, people don’t have to buy their own walkers, crutches, wheelchairs.) They do that with music therapy. They do that with exceptional kindness, knowledge, compassion, and skill.
They live their “why.”
On its website, there’s also one story of a person who could walk again thanks to the association’s nurses and physical therapists.
“I had a stroke; after my surgery in the hospital, they told my daughter I would never walk again. Well, I am walking! My clinicians were always there when they said they would be. My physical therapist was the best! I would say, I can’t do that! but she’d encourage me: ‘Yes, you can!’ I think that is her gift.”
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
To donate or find out how you can help.
Other links.
- Island Connections
- Mount Desert Chamber of Commerce
- Town of Mount Desert
- Veteran’s Benefits Guide (caring.com)
- Resources for Older Adults Experiencing Loneliness and Isolation
Photos: Bar Harbor Story
Follow us on Facebook or BlueSky or Instagram. And as a reminder, you can easily view all our past stories and press releases here.
Bar Harbor Story is a mostly reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for being here with us and being part of our community too!
Thanks for reading Bar Harbor Story! This post is public so feel free to share it.
If you’d like to donate to help support us, you can, but no pressure! Just click here (about how you can give) or here (a direct link), which is the same as the button below.
If you’d like to sponsor the Bar Harbor Story, you can! Learn more here.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR COMMITMENT TO YOUR COMMUNITY
Discover more from Bar Harbor Story
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.