Requests for food stamps and other public assistance programs have nearly doubled since the middle of March.
Joe Lawlor
Staff Writer
Joe Lawlor writes about health and human services for the Press Herald. A 24-year newspaper veteran, Lawlor has worked in Ohio, Michigan and Virginia before relocating to Maine in 2013 to join the Press Herald. He is still considered “from away” but since then, he has learned what a “dooryard” is, eaten “whoopie pies” drank Moxie and boiled some “lobstahs.” The stories he enjoys most are when he learns something and meeting inspiring people.
He lives in South Portland - aka “SoPo” - with his wife, Melanie, and two school-age children.
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine, News
St. Mary’s revises coronavirus sick leave policy after criticism from employees
Nurses at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center had complained about a requirement that they use their own earned time off if they had to quarantine themselves for 14 days after a potential coronavirus exposure.
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine, News
At St.Mary’s hospital, quarantined staff must use own sick time
Some employees of St. Mary’s are critical of management for requiring staffers who are quarantined after coronavirus exposure to use their own sick/vacation time.
Posted inMaine, News, Oxford Hills
Stephens Memorial Hospital prepares for surge in coronavirus cases
Hospitals in the state’s rural areas could play a key role in responding to the pandemic in Maine, but some are struggling with financial pressures that have sapped their resources.
Posted inBusiness, Maine, News
Coronavirus tests produced in Maine give results within minutes
The tests developed by Abbott Laboratories, which will start mass producing them this week, could substantially change how testing is done in the United States.
Posted inMaine, News
Behind the scenes as Maine Med prepared for a public health emergency
As the outbreak approached, administrators and medical personnel moved to the front lines in a battle that would alter society.
Posted inMaine, News
Maine hospitals scramble for supplies, try to build capacity quickly
The hospitals are canceling all non-critical procedures and banking on social distancing to reduce demand for their limited number of beds.
Posted inMaine, News
About a dozen Mainers are being tested for coronavirus, says Maine CDC
The agency says it has submitted about a dozen samples to federal testing labs and has obtained the equipment and test kits needed to test 500 to 700 people, starting in about a week.
Posted inMaine, News, Politics
Congress strikes deal to restore low-income heating assistance funds
Maine’s congressional delegation criticized the proposed diversion of $37.4 million in LIHEAP funding to pay for the federal coronavirus response.
Posted inMaine, News, Politics
‘No’ vote – to keep state’s new vaccine law – wins by overwhelming margin
The proposal to overturn Maine’s new childhood vaccination requirement was losing badly as the tally mounted, with 74% of voters rejecting the ‘people’s veto’ effort.