Medical mission
BANGOR — Three UMA dental hygiene students will go on a two-week medical mission to the Dominican Republic this summer. A Paint Nite fundraising event will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at the Sea Dog Brewing Company in Bangor.
The students will be accompanied by UMA-Bangor Assistant Professor Nancy Foster and Associate Professor Joleen Lee as well as volunteer physicians, nurses, nursing students and faculty from the University of Southern Maine who have a 20-year association with the nonprofit organization Partners for Rural Health in the Dominican Republic.
It will be the first time UMA dental health students and faculty members have taken part in an international humanitarian mission.
The group will trek to 15 rural villages to provide treatment to 2,000 patients. Working out of homes, schoolrooms and chapels they will provide local residents with toothbrushes, dental screenings, preventive education, fluoride treatments and, where necessary, temporary dental fillings.
In an effort to raise funds for the trip, students have set up a GoFundMe online account where those who wish to support the mission donate.
To donate online visit gofund.me/2015DRmissiontrip.
For information about the mission trip, contact Nancy Foster at 266-6234 or nancy.foster@maine.edu.
New staff member
BANGOR — Health Affiliates Maine, a statewide substance abuse and mental health agency, announced the hiring of board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr. Jessica Manaker.
Manaker has been practicing in the greater Bangor area for 10 years and will continue to provide psychiatric care to patients in the greater Bangor area as a HAM Affiliate. Her experience includes treating a wide range of issues affecting children and teens, including anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, trauma, autism/developmental delays and bipolar illness.
Originally from Orono, Manaker returned to Maine to begin her career in 2004. She earned a medical degree and fulfilled her adult psychiatry residency at the Medical University of South Carolina, and completed fellowship training in child psychiatry at Brown University. She has worked primarily in a community mental health setting, and enjoys collaborating with other providers and educators to serve families using a team-based approach.
For information, call 877-888-4304 or visit healthaffiliatesmaine.com/referrals
Collaborative member
BANGOR — St. Joseph Internal Medicine, a St. Joseph Healthcare primary care practice,
announced that it has been selected to continue as a member of the Maine Chronic Pain Collaborative for its second program cycle. The collaborative is a continuing effort to work
with as many as 15 Maine primary care practices to improve healthcare delivery, clinical
outcomes and quality of life for individuals with chronic pain.
Through the collaborative, participating practices present cases and learn from leading chronic pain management experts in regular teleconferences through Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) at the Integrative Pain Center in Arizona. Each participating primary care practice sets its own goals.
For information, go to stjoehealing.org.