MaineGeneral Health and Rinck Advertising Named Finalists For The 2026 PRWeek Healthcare Awards In Oncology

NEW YORK, NY – The fifth annual PRWeek Healthcare Awards judging has closed, and the finalists have been announced. MaineGeneral Health and Rinck Advertising have been named finalists in the Oncology category for their integrated public health campaign “We’re With You.”

The PRWeek Healthcare Awards showcases and celebrates the best campaigns, projects, agencies, in-house teams and individuals across healthcare and pharmaceutical public relations.

Developed for MaineGeneral’s Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care, “We’re With You” addressed a persistent challenge in rural New England: many patients believe they must travel to Portland or Boston for advanced cancer treatment. Located in central Maine, the center provides state-of-the-art oncology care, advanced diagnostics, and clinical trial access close to home, serving about 12 percent of the state’s cancer population and welcoming roughly 2,000 new consultations each year.

To close awareness gaps, MaineGeneral partnered with Rinck Advertising to build a fully integrated campaign anchored around the community’s annual Day of Hope event. The work combined paid media, earned media partnerships, and experiential activation to deliver a unified message grounded in patient reality: high-quality cancer care is available locally.

“At MaineGeneral, we take to heart that we’re taking care of our own, because we live, work and play in our community,” said Nicole McSweeney, Chief Marketing & Philanthropy Officer at MaineGeneral Health. “We want our neighbors, our family and our friends to know they can get great care close to home when they need it most, and that’s why we work so hard to message that high-quality, patient-centered care is what you can expect to get locally.”

“Public health campaigns only work when people recognize themselves in the story,” said Emily Broadbent, Senior Account Manager at Rinck Advertising. “This campaign was built around actual patients, survivors, and clinicians across central Maine. By combining local media partnerships, targeted outreach, and impactful community events like Day of Hope, we helped show families that advanced cancer care is not hours away. It is right here, with people who care about them.”

Day of Hope brought the message to life with free screenings, education booths, integrative therapy sessions, and a Walk for Hope that united survivors, families, volunteers, and local businesses.

Steve Barrett, VP, editorial director of PRWeek, said: “Healthcare and pharma represent some of the most high-profile storylines in business, marketing and society generally. PRWeek’s Healthcare Awards celebrates the most creative and effective work in this important sector.”

For more information about the 2026 PRWeek Healthcare Awards, please visit www.prweekushealthcareawards.com