Category Archives: breaking news

Maine seeing record cases of chickenpox among children

A record number of Maine schoolchildren have been infected with chickenpox this school year, according to state health officials. From September 2014 through mid-May 2015, 84 cases of the highly contagious virus were reported in children, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s nearly double the 44 cases reported during the same period of the 2013-14 school […]

Are Maine’s Obamacare enrollment totals inflated too?

Obamacare took another gut punch today with news that its often touted enrollment totals erroneously included dental plans. This comes in the wake of more bad news for the health reform law, including a Supreme Court challenge that could undercut its critical insurance subsidies and contradictory comments made by Obamacare consultant and MIT economist Jonathan Gruber. Today’s news boils […]

Vital Signs: Maine health providers prepare for Ebola

Nurse Kaci Hickox may have reached a settlement with the state over how she’ll be monitored for signs of Ebola, but that doesn’t mean the deadly virus has dropped off Maine’s radar. Medical professionals and public officials from across the state gathered Wednesday in Bangor to further prepare for a possible case of the illness. They discussed basic […]

Worried about the Maine food worker who possibly exposed diners to hepatitis A?

State health officials announced last week that a food service worker in Cumberland County may have exposed diners to hepatitis A. We still don’t know where this occurred or how many people were potentially exposed to the contagious liver disease, because the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention won’t release the information. But the agency was more […]

Maine once arrested an infected TB patient: How Kaci Hickox is different

In September 2006, John Donohue landed in Cumberland County Jail for refusing to take medication to prevent the spread of his tuberculosis.  Legal and health officials described the 54-year-old transient’s case as the first time in Maine that a person was imprisoned to avoid spreading a potentially fatal disease. With disagreement reaching a fever pitch over how Maine should respond […]

Bangor hospital drops remote ICU program

Eastern Maine Medical Center plans to discontinue a program that connects nurses treating intensive care patients throughout the region to specialists in Bangor. The Critical Care Connection service, established in 2008, will cease effective June 20, the hospital announced in a Tuesday news release. Insurers don’t reimburse hospitals for the service, limiting the number of medical centers that could […]

As EMMC faces shortfall, parent organization touts financial rating

Less than a week after Bangor’s Eastern Maine Medical Center announced a $7 million shortfall, its parent organization is touting a healthy balance sheet and strong financial future. How can that be? Here’s a closer look. Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems issued a press release Wednesday announcing that Standard & Poor’s issued a “positive outlook” for the […]