Digital Commons Network^™

Challenges And Strategies To Expanding Mat Within Primary Care: Provider Perspectives. Issue Brief, Rachel M. Gallo Mph, Mary Lindsey Smith Phd, Katie Rosingana Ba

Substance Use Research & Evaluation

No abstract provided.

Building Capacity For Medication-Assisted Treatment (Mat) Through Mehaf's Addiction Care Program. [Infographic], Rachel M. Gallo Mph

Substance Use Research & Evaluation

No abstract provided.

Access To Health Care Services For Adults In Maine [Policy Brief], Erika C. Ziller Phd, Barbara Leonard Mph, Amanda Burgess Mppm, Nathan Paluso Mph

Access / Insurance

This data brief by researchers at the Maine Health Access Foundation and the University of Southern Maine's Maine Rural Health Research Center found ongoing inequality in the ability of people in Maine to get quality health care. The report examines data from 2014-2016 and shows that Maine people, of all income groups, report difficulties in paying medical costs. Research has also found the ability to seek timely and appropriate health care is impacted by income levels, educational background, race and ethnicity.
This brief provides an update to the 2016 study (available in Digital Commons: https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=insurance)

For more information, please …

Adults Using Long Term Services And Supports: Population And Service Use Trends In Maine, Sfy 2016, Kimberly I. Snow Mhsa, Ba, Frances Jimenez Ba, Tina Gressani, Louise Olsen

Disability & Aging

All of us have likely either used, will use, or know someone who uses long term services and support (LTSS). They enable us to live with dignity and as much independence as possible and offer us the opportunity to remain involved and productive in our communities. The need for LTSS can arise suddenly after injury or illness or a life-long condition. But how ever the need arises, the impact is the same—services such as personal care, work support, home health care, and residential care provide not just for individual health and comfort, but also for interaction, inclusion, and engagement with …

Community Paramedicine Pilot Programs: Lessons From Maine, Karen B. Pearson Mlis, Ma, George Shaler Mph

Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Community paramedicine programs are beginning to flourish across the nation, and the need to provide demonstration or pilot programs is essential to providing a consistent and high-level standard for this model of care. While the overarching goals are to align with the Triple Aim, piloting a community paramedicine program also allows each community to develop and implement a program tailored to the healthcare needs of their specific community. A successful program builds the evidence base that can then be used to create legislative change necessary to financially sustain this model of care across the healthcare delivery system. This article provides …

Charting A Pathway Forward: Redesigning And Realigning Supports And Services For Maine's Older Adults, Eileen Griffin Jd, Elizabeth C. Gattine Jd

Disability & Aging

The current growth of the population age 65 and older is one of the most significant demographic trends in the history of this country and is especially significant for Maine, where the number of people age 65 and older is growing even faster than the rest of the nation. By 2025, over a quarter of Maine’s population is expected to be age 65 and older. Because the cost of long term paid support is out of reach for many Mainers, public financing—particularly Medicaid financing—is an essential tool for addressing the long term support needs of older adults. But Medicaid is …

Aligning Opioid Prescribing Pathways, Andrea Lai, Outpatient Pharmacy, Haley Pelletier, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Ruth Hanselman

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center

There is a drug epidemic sweeping the State of Maine and it continues to worsen each passing year. In 2017, the Maine legislature passed Public Law Chapter 488 to strengthen the controlled substance prescription monitoring program. An outpatient pharmacy, located in a large acute care hospital, created a performance improvement project to clarify opioid prescription and resolve any non-compliance with Chapter 488.

After a root cause analysis, several KPIs were established to include tracking the number of phone calls made by pharmacists to non-compliant providers to clarify scripts, provide one on one education and ultimately resolve non-compliance. Repeat offenders were …

Mental Health Status And Access To Health Care Services For Adults In Maine, Erika C. Ziller Phd, Barbara Leonard Mph

Access / Insurance

Maine people with poor mental health describe significant challenges with affordability and access to health care. A new report released by the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) and the University of Southern Maine, Mental Health Status and Access to Health Care Service for Adults in Maine, describes how adults 18 and older in Maine who report depression and poor mental health have many barriers to getting health care. These results have important implications for planning in a time when major changes in health insurance coverage are expected.

Analyzing data from the ongoing federal/state public health survey, the Behavioral Risk …

A Study Of Teacher Practices And Perspectives On Nutrition Education In Maine Elementary Schools, Alexandra J. Courtney

Honors College

The purpose of this study was to identify how multiple influencing factors on nutrition education, relating to professional development, teacher self-efficacy, teacher beliefs, program use, wellness policies, and environmental factors, influence the amount of time elementary educators spend teaching nutrition in their classrooms. The primary tool for data collection was a comprehensive survey developed using Qualtrics software. The survey was distributed to Maine superintendents and principals who were asked to pass the survey along to K-5 teachers. Out of 270 responses collected before the survey end date, 233 were used for statistical analyses. The factors that influenced time teaching nutrition …

Access To Health Care Services For Adults In Maine [Report], Erika C. Ziller Phd

Access / Insurance

On October 17, 2016, the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) released a new research brief developed with the University of Southern Maine that found significant inequality in the ability of people in Maine to access quality health care. The authors, Barbara Leonard from MeHAF and Erika Ziller from the USM Muskie School, found that income, age and education are all closely associated with Maine people’s ability to receive appropriate and timely health care. Specifically, they found that among Maine adults 18 and older, those with family incomes less than $25,000 a year, young adults, racial and ethnic minorities, and people …

Piscataquis Thriving In Place Collaborative Year 1 Evaluation Report, University Of Maine Center On Aging

Maine Center on Aging Education and Training

The Piscataquis Thriving in Place Collaboration's mission is to improve regional services and supports that help adults with chronic health conditions remain in their homes avoid unnecessary hospitalization. The following report presents evaluation results from Year 1 of the Piscataquis Thriving in Place Collaborative gained through survey work and Ripple Effects Mapping. sessions conducted with project workgroups. Project outcomes during the first year were diverse, but can be roughly categorized into the areas of increased knowledge of community needs among collaborative members, increased knowledge of available resources to support thriving in place, and expansion of services and supports in response …

The Cost Of Alcohol And Drug Abuse In Maine, 2015, Marcella H. Sorg, Jamie A. Wren

Health & Public Safety

No abstract provided.

Maine Ems Community Paramedicine Pilot Program Evaluation, Karen B. Pearson Mlis, Ma, George Shaler Mph

Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

In November 2014, the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine was awarded a contract to evaluate the implementation of the statewide CP Pilot Program in Maine. This report presents process level results from the evaluation. The report includes findings from interviews with the twelve community paramedicine pilot sites in Maine and with the state of Maine EMS office.

The layout of the report follows the key themes and categories from our interviews:

• Staffing
• Training
• Stakeholders and Partners
• CP Services
• CP Event
• Data Collection
• Funding
• Challenges
• Successes
• Sustainability

The report concludes with lessons learned which may …

Accessing Healthcare: The Experience Of Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders In Maine, Alan Kurtz, Angie Schickle, Margaret Carr, Marnie Bragdon-Morneault, Susan Russell, Debra Rainey, Jill Downs, Nancy Cronin

Health and Well-Being

Previous research has revealed that children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are significantly more likely to have both unmet healthcare needs than those with other disabilities. In addition, they are more likely to have difficulty accessing primary or specialized medical care. Minority status, living in a rural location, and low income can exacerbate these disparities. Other obstacles to effective healthcare for individuals with ASD include the following: (1) severity of symptoms associated with ASD; (2) lack of knowledge or skill by medical practitioners; (3) lack of access to comprehensive healthcare supports or a medical home; and (4) lack …

Adults With Intellectual Disabilities Or Autism Spectrum Disorder: Population And Service Use Trends In Maine, 2014 Edition, Kimberly I. Snow Mhsa, Ba, Stuart Bratesman Mpp, Taryn Bowe, Julie T. Fralich Mba

Disability & Aging

This Chartbook is unique in its detailing of the service and costs of adults with intellectual disability or austim spectrum disorder (ID/ASD) in Maine.

2013 Survey Of Children Served By Mainecare, Jean A. Talbot Phd, Deborah Thayer Mba, Zachariah T. Croll Mph, Kimberley Fox Mpa

Medicaid

These survey results help identify areas for improvement for future initiatives both for the MaineCare program and for providers serving this population. Key Findings: MaineCare higher than the national average on most patient experience measures. Significant improvements in MaineCare provider/family communication and care coordination. MaineCare lower than national average on customer service, availability of treatment choices, and care coordination among providers. Patient experience generally similar for Medicaid and CHIP enrollees. Many MaineCare children have special health care needs. 35% of children enrolled in MaineCare have special health care needs, according to the 2013 survey. Experience of children with special health …

The Cost Of Alcohol And Drug Abuse In Maine, 2010, Anne L. Rogers, Marcella H. Sorg, Jamie A. Wren

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Summary findings

• In 2010, the total estimated cost of substance abuse in Maine was $1.403 billion.

• This $1.403 billion translates into a cost equaling $1,057 for every resident of Maine.

• This was a 56.2% increase from 2005.

• Substance abuse treatment ($47.0 million) comprised the smallest proportion of total cost (3.4%), while mortality, $409.6 million, comprised the largest proportion of costs (24.8%).

Children Served By Mainecare, 2012: Survey Findings, Nathaniel J. Anderson Ms, Mph, Kimberley Fox Mpa, Deborah Thayer Mba, Zachariah T. Croll Mph

Medicaid

The purpose of the annual Survey of Children Served by MaineCare is to monitor the quality of services delivered by MaineCare, the State's Medicaid and CHIP program. The 2012 survey examines the experiences of families with children. ages 0-17, who are enrolled in MaineCare using a standardized survey instrument (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems--CAHPS--4.0H Child Medicaid Health Plan Survey). MaineCare scores very favorably compared with national benchmarks on CAHPS measures of Getting Needed Care, Getting Care Quickly, and How Well the Child's Doctors Community, with ratings at or above the 75th percentile on all the composites and individual …

"Homelike" Characteristics Of Maine's Residential Services: A Survey Of Maine's Residential Service Settings (2010), Julie T. Fralich Mba, Eileen Griffin Jd, Catherine Mcguire Bs

Disability & Aging

To better understand the nature of the residential facilities serving more than 19 percent of Maine’s Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) population, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services commissioned the Muskie School to conduct a survey of residential facilities as part of its update to Maine’s LTSS profile. The goal of the Maine Residential Settings Characteristics Survey, conducted between July and September 2010, was to measure the "homelike" characteristics of residential settings.

The survey sample comprised a total of 636 facilities which included all licensed residential care facilities or private non-medical licensed institutions. The survey response rate …

Older Adults And Adults With Disabilities: Population And Service Use Trends In Maine, 2012 Edition, Julie T. Fralich Mba, Stuart Bratesman Mpp, Louise Olsen, Catherine Mcguire Bs, Jasper Ziller, Karen Mauney, Catherine Gunn

Disability & Aging

This Chartbook is an update to the Chartbook: Older Adults and Adults with Physical Disabilities: Population and Service Use Trends in Maine 2010. With the aging of Maine’s population and its status as the “oldest” state in the nation, the use of long term services continues to be a critical public policy issue in the State and nationally. The information in this Chartbook is provided to help inform state policy makers, legislators, providers, advocates and others with an interest in this subject.

Providing Better Care At Lower Cost: Building Maine's Health Data Infrastructure To Support Financing And Delivery System Reform, Andrew F. Coburn Phd

Health System Reform

Maine needs a robust and functional health data infrastructure to support efforts by health care providers and purchasers to improve quality, address Maine’s health care cost problems, and improve the health of individuals and populations through payment and delivery system reform. Although Maine has been a leader in building and using health data systems such as the hospital discharge data set and the all-payer claims database, new performance-based financing and delivery system arrangements are highlighting shortcomings in these systems and the need for a renewed vision of Maine’s future health data infrastructure.

The Health Data Workgroup was created by The …

Women’S Health Disparities And Midwifery Care: Spotlight On Maine, Dorothy Hiersteiner

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

With a large percentage of its population living in rural areas, Maine faces obstacles to providing adequate prenatal and maternity care to many women. The vast majority (96.2%) of Maine residents are non-Hispanic white, 1.2% are African American/black, 1.4% are Hispanic and 1.2% have other racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Profiling Maine’S Long Term Support System [Project Brief], Eileen Griffin Jd

Disability & Aging

A recent report by the Muskie School and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services provides a new way of looking at the state’s long term support system. With an emphasis on developing a common approach for description and analysis across programs, the profile reveals that users of long term services and supports in Maine span all age groups and types of service users. In fact, 28% are ages 17 or younger and 29% are between the age of 35 and 64. Long term service users include people with physical impairments, cognitive and intellectual disabilities, and people who need …

Cross-System Profile Of Maine's Long Term Support System: A New View Of Maine's Long Term Services And Supports And The People Served, Eileen Griffin Jd, Julie T. Fralich Mba, Catherine Mcguire Bs, Louise Olsen, Stuart Bratesman Mpp, Kathy Bubar, Romaine Turyn

Disability & Aging

This document provides a new way of looking at Maine's long term services and supports, with an emphasis on developing a common approach for describing and analyzing long term services and supports across programs. A conscious effort was made to organize this profile around the populations served rather than the programs serving them. For that reason, the profile captures information on all of the services accessed by each population group, not only those services administered by a particular program. This broader view provides important information about the full range of service utilization for each population group.

An Overview Of Human Health Issues, Marcella H. Sorg

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Mental Health And Substance Abuse In Maine: Building A Community-Based System, David Lambert Phd, John A. Gale Ms

Mental Health / Substance Use Disorders

No abstract provided.

A Watershed Analysis Of Pattee Pond: Implications For Water Quality And Land Use Management, Problems In Environmental Science Course (Biology 493), Colby College, Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College

Colby College Watershed Study: Pattee Pond (2008, 1992)

The Colby Environmental Assessment Team (CEAT) investigated the impact of land use patterns on the water quality of Pattee Pond in Winslow, Maine, during the summer and fall of 2008. Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water quality were analyzed to evaluate the current health of the lake. Data collected were compared with previous studies conducted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and CEAT to examine changes in water quality and land use over time. Trends in Pattee Pond water quality suggest an improvement since the 1970s. However, the lake is still experiencing algal blooms resulting from phosphorus …

Elder Abuse Screening Protocol For Physicians: Lessons Learned From The Maine Partners For Elder Protection Pilot Project, University Of Maine Center On Aging

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

This manual was designed to assist physicians, nurses, and medical office managers become aware on means to incorporate screening processes in regard to elder abuse. The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging has reported that as many as five million elderly persons are abuses each year in the United States. By implementing proper screening procedures, disclosure will be made easier, thus protecting patients from harm. The screening procedure involves evaluating for mistreatment among patients 60 years or older, at least once per year. The protocol has been tested in 16 healthcare facilities with a total of 2,082 patients being …

Land Use Patterns In Relation To Lake Water Quality In The Great Pond Watershed, Problems In Environmental Science Course (Biology 493), Colby College, Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College

Colby College Watershed Study: Great Pond (2012, 2010, 1998)

Lakes are natural resources, which have many effects on the land surrounding them, They support adjacent communities by providing water and regulating temperatures, helping to define the surrounding ecosystem, and serving as sources of drinking water as well as recreation. The prolonged presence of human activity in a watershed can disturb the physical and chemical cycles of the lake and its surrounding ecosystems (Henderson-Sellers and Markland 1987). Over time, lakes undergo a process called eutrophication, a natural aging process during which the nutrient levels increase and dissolved oxygen levels decrease (Smith and Smith 1998). As the lake ages or becomes …

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project At Dickey, Maine : Final Environmental Statement, New England Division, United States Army Engineer Division

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

This document contains those comments and responses on the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement. It is a continuation of Volume II published by the Corps in 1978. In addition, it contains reproductions of those letters of comment received on the March 1980 Draft Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Plan, and the responses to these comments.