FACILITIES

IRSI’s Rockland, Maine site is housed in the Thorndike Building on Main Street in the center of downtown. The building has recently been converted for office use from retail/residential status and has already attracted a number of tenants in the medical field.

Stephen Schwartz, President of IRSI, said of the opening of the Maine site, "We chose the Thorndike Building for both practical and emotional reasons. On the practical side, the reborn Thorndike is an excellent office complex in a perfect location, easily reached by study volunteers. The fact that it is also a historic structure was especially appealing to us because our executive offices are located in a lovely converted school building on the shores of Long Island Sound. We believe that a sense of history is important to our business, particularly in the Maine environment."

DATABASE

IRSI chose the Mid-Coast region of Maine because of it’s unique climate and its effects upon the population.

The climate is among the most consistently dry types to be found within the continental USA. Many factors contribute to this low absolute humidity. Among them are the low ocean water temperatures immediately offshore, prevailing winds which are North-Westerly and relatively low seasonal air temperatures.

All of these factors coincide to provide us with one of the highest per capita incidences of asteatosis (xerosis) to be found anywhere. These same factors are among those which cause us to have some of the cleanest and clearest air. This, in turn, means that the recorded annual hours of sunlight are much more significant than similar hours of sun trying to push through smog and haze.

And so, the second feature, the genetic makeup of the indigenous population is of importance. This is an area where Scottish, Irish and Nordic people settled. Rosaceal Dermatitis, Actinic Damage and Solar Keratoses are among the other most common problems presented to the dermatologist. All are influence by incident sunlight.

Finally, in recent years, economic factors have probably caused a shift to a relatively high median age for the population affecting the incidence of all the above problems.

LOCATION AND TRANSPORTATION

Rockland is located approximately 80 minutes northeast of Portland, Maine’s largest city and the Portland International Airport. There is also an airport less than ten minutes from downtown Rockland (Knox County Airport) in Owl’s Head. This airport caters primarily to private planes, corporate jets and regional commuter flights.