The Downeast Public Health Council identified three primary priorities and one secondary priority for their three-year district public health improvement plan. The council then funded incubator-style proposals to offer smaller amounts of funding to meet specific objectives and outcomes, allowing many district partners to develop pilot projects. The council funded seventeen projects from February-June 2017. Two of these focused on an assessment of physical activity work in each county and then developing a pilot project. In Washington County, the project was initiating more bicycle mobility an ..read more

The flu has officially arrived in Maine for the 2017-2018 season. U.S. CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses. Vaccine for the 2017-2018 flu season has been updated to better match circulating flu viruses. Disease Surveillance and Reporting Maine CDC is hosting a “Start of the 2017-18 Influenza Season” conference call at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, September 28. The intent of this call is to provide updates for the season, outline resources available, and remind facilities of the requirements for the flu season. This call is part ..read more

From September 10-16, Maine joins the rest of the United States and the international community in recognizing World Suicide Prevention Week.  World Suicide Prevention Week is an opportunity to learn about the role that all of us can play in preventing suicide and commit to supporting the mental health of our family, friends, and communities. In 2015, 235 Mainers died by suicide, making suicide was the second-leading cause of death for Maine youth and young adults between the ages of 15-34. Every suicide death or suicide attempt has a ripple effect that stretches far beyond the individual ..read more

The Downeast District continues to build strong relationships with our emergency preparedness partners through active participation in tabletop exercises. Bar Harbor Airport held a full-scale airplane in the water scenario with the district liaison working in the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) for the event. Castine conducted a table top exercise around a hurricane-type event that caused road closures to the peninsula and subsequent damage and contamination to the local drinking water infrastructure. Maine CDC staff provided consultation on boil order procedures and drinking water protocols ..read more

September is National Preparedness Month. Maine CDC’s Public Health Emergency and Response (PHEP) team provides oversight and coordination of all public health and medical response and recovery resources that are required to reduce and/or prevent loss of life from an infectious disease outbreak, a natural disaster, or an act of terrorism. This is accomplished by activating and staffing the Public Health Emergency Operations Center, which is the central nervous system for all response and recovery activities being conducted by public health and healthcare responders. In between public health em ..read more

Maine CDC's cancer registry has again been recognized as a Registry of Excellence by U.S. CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) for its high quality data for cancer prevention and control activities. The North American Association of Central Cancer Registries has recognized Maine's cancer registry for meeting its Gold Standard on quality, completeness and timeliness of data every year since 2004 ..read more

A new study of heat and health shows that hospital emergency department visits and deaths from all causes in Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island increased significantly, by 7.5 and 5.1 percent respectively, on days when the heat index reached 95 degrees as compared to days with a maximum heat index of 75 degrees. Based on the study findings, the National Weather Service (NWS) Northeast Region forecastoffices will now issue heat advisories when the heat index is forecast to reach 95 degrees on two or more consecutive days or 100 degrees for any amount of time. The previous NWS regional thres ..read more

Maine CDC has a new way to communicate about agency rulemaking with its updated Maine CDC Rules webpage. Interested parties may sign up to receive updates on specific topics:   Disease Management (includes health data and reporting, disease detection and prevention programs, mortality review, etc.) Environmental/Public Health (includes radon, tanning facilities, child lead poisoning prevention, public water systems and health, environmental testing laboratory, etc.) Healthcare Access/Sustainability (includes Certificate of Need, designating underserved areas,  free care guideli ..read more

  Congratulations to the 2017 Lyme Disease Awareness Month poster contest winners. Winning entries are posted at www.maine.gov/lyme The winners from Maine CDC’s 8th annual Lyme Disease Awareness Month poster contest were: Lylah Shanz, 1st grade, Stratton School Allison Hanscom, 3rd grade, Miles Lane School Jayvin Saint Louis, 4/5 grade, Spruce Mountain Elementary School Emily Seavey, 6th grade, Lyman Middle School 2017 Honorable mentions: Kenzi Jo Richards, 4/5 grade, Spruce Mountain Elementary School Noah Koenig, 7th grade, Stratton School Winning entries are posted at www.maine.go ..read more

The Bangor International Airport conducted its tri-annual airport disaster drill on May 16. The Federal Aviation Administration requires airports across the country to conduct full-scale disaster exercises once every three years. The exercise is usually designed around a mass causality scenario. The Northeastern Maine Regional Healthcare Coalition, 26 health care and behavioral health partners, participated in the drill as well as Maine CDC’s District Public Health Liaisons and the director of Disaster Behavioral Health. Maine CDC staff was assigned in different roles including as observers, e ..read more