BAR HARBOR, ME — Matinicus Island high-to-low tides vary about 10-feet. Here’s the Sunbeam resting on mud at low tide. When the Sunbeam arrives in Matinicus harbor one of the crew’s first moves is tying the boat to the dock. At low tide, this prevents the Sunbeam from tipping on its side.
(Photo by Island Health Director Sharon Daley)
BAR HARBOR, ME — Thank you, Mr. Thomas Dodd for this drone video clip of the Sunbeam V taken Sunday, December 9, 2018 in Northeast Harbor.
Learn more about the Sunbeam V’s work.
Some ElderCare Conference 2018 attendees at the end of day two.
ISLESBORO, ME — No doubt the group of elder care providers and presenters at the Maine Seacoast Mission’s October 23-24 on Island ElderCare Conference on Islesboro island were very glad to be at the table, said one attendee, “with people who speak the same language.”
For ten years Mission Island Health Director Sharon Daley, RN, has helped create a network for the islands represented at the Conference. “What a great group of people who do so much for many,” Sharon said of the event.
In addition to this annual in-person Conference, the group stays connected throughout the year in other ways.
In the Mission’s July 13, 2018 blog post, “Maine Island Elder Care Homes: Ahead of Their Time,” Sharon Daley explained the network’s effectiveness. Between conferences we “have monthly phone calls. Two or three times a year we meet in Augusta with State people involved in licensing and regulations. Island elder care homes got a 15-percent MaineCare increase when we proved it costs more to run an elder care home on an island,” Sharon said.
Islands represented at this year’s conference were: Chebeague Island, Cliff Island, Isle au Haut, Islesboro, Islesford, Long Island, North Haven, Peaks Island, and Vinalhaven.
The guest presenters and their topics for discussion were:
Maine Health Care Association President & CEO Rick Erb, and also, State government representatives with updates on Elder Care Issues.
Betty J. Harris, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and APPE Coordinator at Husson University’s School of Pharmacy, Bangor, ME discussed medication awareness/safety tips.
Music Therapist Melissa Violette spoke about the benefits of music therapy with dementia, and also, as self-care for caregivers.
Kandyce Powell, Executive Director of Maine Hospice Council and Center for End-of-Life Care spoke about many aspects of dealing with grief.
Nancy Hathaway, licensed by the State of Maine as the first Licensed Pastoral Counselor in the Buddhist tradition, gave an Introduction to Mindfulness-based Compassionate Communication.
“This conference just gives so much energy. You go back (home) with so many ideas. Keep having this conference. It’s so important,” said Cindy Thomas of Islesford.
Asked for their takeaways from the Conference, attendee’s answers included: the need for island elder caregivers to frame their stories and share them with their island populations. Also, building the community presence, working on a drug take back program, advance directives, living on fixed incomes, and strengthening the network.
Peggy Akers of Cliff Island said in a followup email to Sharon Daley and Sharon’s assistant Margaret Snell, “Thank you for all you do to bring us together each year. You fill our hearts and our souls with so much. Music, food, friendship, and continued passion for the dreams we all have for our beautiful islands.”
A product photo illustrating Island Health Director Daley’s portable telemedicine set-up. (Photo courtesy AMD Global Telemedicine, Inc.)
BAR HARBOR, ME — Maine Seacoast Mission Island Health Director Sharon Daley will soon have portable telemedicine equipment to augment her floating telemedicine room aboard the Sunbeam V. The Sunbeam’s telemedicine room equipment uses videoconferencing and medical devices (i.e. stethoscope, blood pressure cuff) to connect island resident patients in real time with their medical providers. That connectivity relies on a land line for the Sunbeam to lock into.
Health Director Daley’s portable telemedicine gear is web-based, using Windows operating system, and fully usable on the latest Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers. The portable gear weighs around 12 pounds. Where there is a Maine island private room with an internet connection, Sharon can do her work with island patients.
The new telemedicine gear is especially useful when the Sunbeam is undergoing maintenance, or very high winds are keeping the boat in harbor. Traveling by other boats or airplane, Director Sharon Daley can maintain her island schedule.
Sunbeam V arrives in Stonington Harbor, ME on 9-13-18. (Photo by Douglas Cornman)
BAR HARBOR, ME — The Sunbeam V arrived in Stonington, ME on Thursday, September 13 for the boat’s annual routine maintenance. Missing the tide by just 15-minutes, the Sunbeam waited until the next day to be hauled up-and-out of the water and put in dry dock.
With the Sunbeam’s major refitting six months away, Captain Michael Johnson said the crew is focusing this maintenance on “the normal fresh exterior coat of paint and some plumbing work.” Also, the Sunbeam’s engine will have “a tune-up,” just as the family car engine has scheduled tune-ups, to “make sure everything’s within specification,” said Captain Johnson.
Sunbeam Steward Jillian is taking the lead on giving the boat interior a “deep cleaning” in dry dock.
Until the Sunbeam is back in service, the crew — Island Outreach Director Douglas Cornman, Island Health Director Sharon Daley, and Steward Jillian — will continue their work among communities on the Maine islands they serve, relying on island mail boats, water taxis, local island facilities, and Penobscot Island Air.
Even in dry dock, you can rely on the boat online calendar for following the Sunbeam crew’s activities.
from Offshore: A Bell, a Conch, a Harmonica — Islanders say good-bye to loved ones
by Eva Murray
Thursday, August 9, 2018 9:00 AM
The Sunbeam delivered the two gravestones to Matinicus last spring, and the local guy who serves informally as a sort of cemetery sexton used the municipal Kubota to move them from the harbor to the cemetery in the middle of the island.
The Maine Seacoast Mission vessel Sunbeam is instrumental when it comes to these things. For over a century the Sunbeam — the current boat is Sunbeam V, by the way — has carried the whole business — coffin, mourners, flowers, overdressed preachers, uneasy relatives, and seasick undertakers to the most distant offshore communities. Full story