LEWISTON – Forget those little paper cutouts. Central Maine Medical Center has a better way to raise money for the March of Dimes.

Dr. McDreamy.

The Lewiston hospital is raffling a scrub top signed by Maine native Patrick Dempsey and seven other cast members of ABC’s hit hospital drama “Grey’s Anatomy.”

For the show’s devoted followers – and for fans of Dempsey’s character Dr. Derek Shepherd, aka Dr. McDreamy – the raffle is like Christmas, New Year’s and a milestone birthday all rolled into one.

“I’m definitely going to buy tickets,” said fan Hillary Cox, a CMMC employee and leader for the hospital’s March of Dimes WalkAmerica team. “It’s payday Thursday.”

Dempsey was born in Lewiston and raised in Turner and Buckfield. He attended Buckfield Junior-Senior High School before transferring to St. Dominic Regional High School. He left before graduating to focus on acting.

Now 41, Dempsey has dozens of credits to his name, including the movie “Sweet Home Alabama” and stints on TV’s “Will and Grace,” “The Practice” and “Once and Again.” He’s been nominated for both a Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award for his work on “Grey’s Anatomy,” and he recently won a Screen Actors Guild Award as a member of the ensemble cast.

Dempsey’s sister works at CMMC and approached him about autographing the hospital’s navy blue scrubs to raise money for the March of Dimes, fundraising officials said. Dempsey agreed, as did other cast members of the wildly popular “Grey’s Anatomy.”

“It’s the most unusual (fundraiser) to date,” said Judy Soucier, state WalkAmerica director. “The most unusual and hopefully the most successful.”

Although the drawing won’t happen until May 6 – to coincide with the hospital’s participation in the March of Dimes’ WalkAmerica – “Grey’s Anatomy” fans are already opening their wallets. The hospital’s even sold tickets to out-of-staters who heard about the raffle from friends, Cox said.

Raffle tickets cost $5 each or three for $10. They’re available at the hospital’s coffee shop. Volunteers hope to add other locations in the coming days.

It’s unclear how popular the signed scrub top will be or how much money it’ll raise. Although fandom is filled with autographed “Grey’s Anatomy” photos, scripts and other memorabilia, few cast-signed scrubs seem to exist.

At the March of Dimes, Soucier is hoping for something big.

“I think it’ll break the bank,” she said.

CMMC has printed 1,400 raffle tickets and may print 1,400 more. If those run out, the hospital may close the contest so the odds of winning aren’t too astronomical.

And fans who lose this raffle should take heart: CMMC has a second signed scrub top hidden away.

That shirt will be auctioned during a March of Dimes gala in the fall.