Maine CDC Public Health Nurses
Public Health Nurses are registered professional nurses that work on improving, preserving and protecting the health and quality of life for all Maine citizens. They work with individuals, families and populations in different settings including homes, clinics and community.
Their mission is to strengthen the equality of access to public health services for Maine people with a vision for Maine people to live well and be healthy and safe.
Services provided:
PHN supports programs within the Maine CDC and provides services related to:
- Maternal and Child Health (MCH)
- Communicable disease control
- Tuberculosis and latent TB infection management
- Immunizations
- Support migrant and refugee health
- Adult services
- Asthma prevention
- Lead poisoning management
- Work with other agencies across the state to strengthen access to care.
District PHN:
The Downeast Public Health District serves the population in Hancock and Washington Counties and staffs four PHNs: one supervisor and three field nurses.
Downeast PHN:
The current focus of the Downeast PHN is the MCH home visiting program, which works with birthing families during the prenatal and postpartum phases and beyond. They provide education, emotional support, breastfeeding support, physical assessments, and care coordination.
Areas for collaborations in the Downeast:
- Infectious disease
- Adult and older adult services
- Refugee health
- Lead poisoning
Accessing PHN MCH services:
- CradleME Request Form
- PHN Referral Form
CradleME referrals can also give access to other support:
Other PHN services:
- Vaccine clinic.
- Comprehensive assessments for vulnerable individuals with unmet needs and barriers to care.
- Education and training for medical, public health and other support agencies.
- Emergency preparedness and response to public health emergencies.
- Coordination of care with community resources.
For more information contact: Cynthia Grass, RN, BSN, CLC (Supervisor).
Nutrition is defined as “the process of providing or obtaining food necessary for health and growth.” Good nutrition is crucial in order to keep current and future generations healthy across their lifespan.
At birth, breast feeding protects against childhood illnesses such as respiratory infections, asthma, SIDS and ear infections. Early adoption of healthy eating habits during adolescence and adulthood lowers the risks of several illnesses such as diabetes, heart diseases and obesity which lengthens life expectancy.
Micronutrients, often known as vitamins and minerals, are essential for normal growth, development, resistance to disease, and overall health. As of 2018 only 12.2% of adults meet the daily fruit intake recommendation and only 9.3% meet the daily vegetable intake recommendation in the U.S. However in Maine the percentage of of adults meet the daily fruit intake recommendation is 14.1% and 10.7% of adults meet the daily vegetable intake recommendation.
The State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2018, shows the status of 10 indicators of fruit and vegetable access and production by state. It can be used to:
- Describe how states can support a strong food
system and promote fruit and vegetable access
• Highlight state successes
• Identify opportunities for improvement
Take a look at summary of the CDC's State Indicator Report Data on Fruits and Vegetables for Maine compared to National and neighboring states.
What can organizations do:
- Promote food service and nutrition guidelines in facilities where food is sold, served and distributed.
- Coordinate uptake of and expansion of existing voucher incentive and produce prescription programs.
- Achieve continuity of care for those who are breastfed.
- Improve nutrition, physical activity and breastfeed in early care and education settings.
Maine CDC’s Physical Activity and Nutrition Program:
- Promotes changes that make active living and healthy eating the easy choice.
- Ensures people have access to healthy foods at a good price.
- Enables people to get their recommended levels of physical activity.
- Increase access to places for physical activity.
- Support breastfeeding best practices in health care systems, worksite and the community.
- Breastfeeding Promotion and Support is an effective approach to reducing lifelong risk of chronic disease for babies and breastfeeding parents.
- Assess and improve the built environment and food systems to create more opportunity for all Mainers to eat healthy and be physically active.
The program is currently focused on Breastfeeding Promotion and Support.
For more information:
Breastfeeding Promotion and Support
Maine Action Guide on Fruits and Vegetables
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025
Local WIC clinic for Downeast:
Maine Family Planning
- Ellsworth: 207-667-5304
- Machias: 207-255-8280
- Calais: 207-454-3634
 March is Save Your Vision Month, which focuses on evidence-based approaches to prevent vision loss and promote eye health across communities.
About 3 million people aged 40 years and older suffer from visual impairment and 1 million were blind in 2018. Almost 2.1 million children and adults under 40 years old are visually impaired or blind. Maine is the state with the lowest visual acuity loss, where 1 in 75 residents suffer vision loss compared to West Virginia with the highest prevalence rate of 1 in 30 residents having visual acuity loss.
Vision problems affect our communities through:
- Reduced independence
- Increased chances of falls
- Barriers to education and employment
- Inequalities in access to eye care
- Financial strain on families and healthcare systems.
Early diagnosis and intervention can often correct vision impairment and slow progression of certain conditions.
Action Steps
Community level steps:
- Work with local healthcare providers to increase vision screening accessibility.
- Partner with schools for children's vision screening programs (Vision Screening in Maine Schools: Evidence Based Guidelines for Preschool and School-Aged Students).
- Support mobile eye care services for rural communities (Optical Academy and 20/20 onsite).
Awareness and Education:
- Promote workplace eye safety programs (SafetyWorks! Toolbox Talks, OSHA Eye and Face Protection).
- Raise awareness about diabetes-related vision problems (Vision loss and diabetes).
- Share information about UV protection in all seasons (Vision Health FAQs, Nine ways to protect your vision).
Access to Care:
- MaineCare covers one routine eye exam for members under 21 and every 3 years and for 21 years and older some exceptions include specific medical diagnoses and certain use of medications.
-
Find an ophthalmologist.
- Free or Low-cost Eye care.
- MaineCare covers Non-Emergency Transportation for eligible members. Access the Transportation Broker List here.
What can healthcare providers do:
- Include vision screening in routine health checks.
- Provide culturally competent care.
- Use clear communication about eye health.
- Make referrals to eye care specialists when needed.
What can organizations do:
- Host vision screening events.
- Share eye health information through trusted community channels.
- Partner with public health organizations for vision initiatives.
- Support policies that improve access to vision care.
Information and Resources:
Learn about the 20/20 onsite event in Portland, ME here.
The Iris Network
New England Low Vision and Blindness
Sources: U.S. CDC, NIH, Maine CDC, Maine DHHS, hiv.gov, Maine DOE, American Cancer Society
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