Vaccine signup causing angst
ELLSWORTH A lengthy process to register for and schedule COVID-19 vaccinations through Northern Light Health using its online portal left many seniors frustrated last week.
When its online portal reopened on Jan. 25, just getting the webpage to load was an issue. Northern Light has set Monday afternoons, starting at 2 p.m., for scheduling vaccination appointments.
“The demand for vaccine is high and the supply is limited,” Kelley Columber, director of communications for the Blue Hill and Ellsworth hospitals, said on Jan. 26, one day after Northern Light reopened its registration and appointments for the second time. This week, the statewide health-care system added a hotline number for residents who don’t have access to or use the internet.
Vaccines are on the way, but with limited supply and high demand, the rollout will take time. Statewide, approximately 81,000 Mainers have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and, as of Tuesday, 12,441 people have been given the required two doses.
Island Police: Despite warning, resident skates on thin ice
Bar Harbor
On Jan. 5 at 7:20 p.m., a Hull’s Cove resident called the police department requesting the police check on a male who was ice skating on Hamilton’s Pond as she was concerned the ice was not thick enough yet. An officer made contact with the skater who, despite the warning that it may not be safe to skate, said he was going to stay and keep skating because he felt differently. No further police action was taken.
An officer checked on the welfare at someone at the town pier at 8:59 a.m. on Jan. 6.
Maine teen sells coronavirus masks to help fund a female veteran housing unit
The transitional housing unit for a homeless female veteran in need is 17-year-old Kasey Jordan s Gold Award Girl Scout project. Author: Hannah Yechivi (NEWS CENTER Maine) Published: 8:45 PM EST December 14, 2020 Updated: 6:06 AM EST December 15, 2020
LAMOINE, Maine Kasey Jordan has been busy sewing masks since March when the coronavirus pandemic started. The 17-year-old is a junior at Mount Desert Island High School, and when she is not focused on schoolwork, Kasey is sewing masks with her mother and troop leader, Lori Jordan. Lori taught Kasey how to make a face mask from scratch. With her help, they have made almost 6,000 masks.
MDI Hospital transitions its leadership
Chrissi Maguire
BAR HARBOR If you ask Mount Desert Island Hospital’s outgoing CEO Art Blank what he will do in retirement, he will tell you that he plans to rekindle his love of horseback riding.
After 20 years at the helm of the hospital, and seeing it through a number of successful transformations, he has probably earned that right, but when he expands on the answer, you’ll find that while he won’t be setting an alarm clock, there are still a few hospital projects to which he will lend a hand in the coming months.