When in Snow, Do as the Snowmen Do
Winter EdGE kids at Machias, ME’s Rose M. Gaffney School getting creative with Variations on a Snowman.
Learn more about our Winter EdGE program.
Island Health Director is Go-Between with Island Elder Care Administrators, State DHHS
Island Health Director Sharon Daley is standing fifth person from the right.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2018
For more information:
Contact: Scott K Fish, Communications & Marketing Director
Maine Seacoast Mission
207-458-7185 or sfish@seacoastmission.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2018
For more information:
Contact: Scott K Fish, Communications & Marketing Director
Maine Seacoast Mission
207-458-7185 or sfish@seacoastmission.org
Island Health Director is Go-Between with Island Elder Care Administrators, State DHHS
BAR HARBOR — With a group of Maine island elder care Administrators she organized, Mission Island Health Director Sharon Daley traveled to Augusta, January 26, to participate in a Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) meeting on elderly care regulations affecting Maine island residents and caregivers. The group meets a few times each year in Augusta with State regulators “to make things better,” said Director Sharon Daley, who is the go-between among the group Administrators and the State.
The two-hour DHHS meeting agenda included discussion on new State regulations requiring time consuming background checks on caregiver staff members and board members. Compliance is expensive for island elder homes who are sometimes under the same regulations as large nursing homes; regulations that do not fit the island elder homes, and “make it difficult” for administrators, said Daley.
State regulators offered the visiting group ways to relieve the burden of compliance by pointing out features on the State website, and identifying a specific DHHS contact person. “This is a chance for DHHS and administrators to work together, with increased understanding by all parties,” Daley said.
Part of the discussion centered on making sure caregivers are aware of new or changed State regulations, and that caregivers understand the regulations.
Also, when island elder care residents need to travel to the mainland, an elder home staff member must accompany the traveling resident. Attendees shared ways their communities are dealing with this by using grant money and community support for a new staff position.
Finally, the State is looking at rewriting all smaller elder care home regulations. The island administrators submitted suggestions. “We will meet again and continue to have input” on that process, said Director Sharon Daley.
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Admiring the Morning Light on Frenchboro Island
FRENCHBORO, Me — A photographer traveling with the Sunbeam in January 2018 took advantage of the spectacular morning light streaming through the Frenchboro Congregational Church windows.
In this photo, Island Outreach Director Douglas Cornman is honoring the photographer’s request to stand in the light for some picture taking.
The Frenchboro Congregational Church hosts an annual Lobster Dinner to benefit the church and the island community. The Sunbeam crew generally transports about 40 people roundrip to the Frenchboro Lobster Festival from the mainland.
EdGE Kids Learning to Prepare Healthy Meals
ADDISON, Me — Learning about healthy foods and how to use healthy foods to prepare meals is part of what school kids can learn through our EdGE program. These photos show some of D.W. Merritt School’s EdGE kids using fresh vegetables and dairy products to make, bake, and eat fresh pizza.
Kids also learn that the mark of a good chef is: he or she cleans dirty dishes and kitchen utensils as they go.
Thank you to the EdGE staff at our Cherryfield Campus for making these and other photos available.
Learn more about our EdGE Programs.
President Planting Joins Machias Kids on Ice Skating Rink
CHERRYFIELD, Me — EdGE Director Charlie Harrington sent this photo taken January 25 at the Downeast Campus ice skating rink where school age kids can skate or learn to skate.
Mission President Scott Planting (the tall skater) ventured out onto the ice. “We were a little worried when Scott went for a skate with the Machias students,” said Charlie Harrington in an email, adding, “He quickly gained back his form. The President told us he had not skated in 40 years. Bravo!”
Learn more about enjoying the Downeast Campus ice skating rink.