Joe Lawlor

Portland

Reporter, Health and Human Services at The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram

I am a reporter for the @PressHerald in Portland, Maine, covering the health and human services beat.

Articles

Sen. Collins grills NIH director on research cuts

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

Jun. 10—Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the new director of the National Institutes of Health, faced sharp questions from Sen. Susan Collins and other senators Tuesday about a proposed 40% budget reduction at the NIH and other cutbacks that are disrupting biomedical research. Bhattacharya appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on labor, health and human services and education on Tuesday as the Trump administration has slashed funding for biomedical research and public health.
Maine's K-12 schools report record high immunization levels

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

Jun. 6—As measles cases continue to spread in many parts of the United States, Maine health officials on Friday announced that the state has recorded its highest ever immunization rate for its K-12 students. The rate of coverage is "more than 97%" for the 2024-25 school year, breaking last year's record of "more than 95%" immunized for common infectious diseases such as measles, chicken pox, polio and pertussis.
Care workers gather at Maine State House to join call for wage increases

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

Jun. 5—AUGUSTA — Shawna Ferris said her finances are stretched so thin that she's had to purchase heating oil 5 gallons at a time. Ferris, a 44-year-old from Mattawamkeag, was one of dozens of direct care workers who joined House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, at a State House news conference Thursday to urge lawmakers and the governor to approve cost-of-living increases for Maine's direct care workforce as part of the state's new two-year budget.
Free Alzheimer’s educational conference to be held in Portland next week

3 weeks ago | sunjournal.com | Carl Natale |Joe Lawlor

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is hosting a free educational conference next week in Portland. The conference will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Portland Regency Hotel and SpaTopics will include ways to prevent Alzheimer’s by prioritizing brain health, including through proper nutrition, exercise and social connections. Seven million people have Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, including about 29,000 Maine residents.
Stalled contract talks with Anthem may cost Northern Light patients

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

Jun. 4—Northern Light Health said Wednesday that negotiations have stalled on a new contract with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, raising the possibility that its hospitals and health care providers may no longer be in-network for many patients starting Sept. 30.
New law lets Maine prescribers keep their names off abortion pill labels

3 weeks ago | sunjournal.com | Carl Natale |Joe Lawlor

Gov. Janet Mills has signed a new law that allows health care providers to remove their names from labels when prescribing abortion pills. The law, LD 538, was introduced by state Rep. Sally Cluchey, D-Bowdoinham, who said she has heard from prescribers who say they have been threatened or harassed for prescribing mifepristone, an abortion medication that is increasingly used for abortion care.
Bridgton medical center closing, citing financial pressures on health care system

4 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

May 29—A community clinic in Bridgton announced on Thursday that it will be closing in August, the latest shuttering of medical services in Maine. The announcement comes after Northern Light Inland Hospital in Waterville closed for patients this week, and after several birthing centers around Maine have closed in recent years.
Collapse of Maine's browntail moth population brings a less itchy spring

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

May 28—The browntail moth population collapse that began in 2024 is continuing this year, which means a less itchy spring for Maine residents. Browntail moth caterpillars shed microscopic hairs that drift through the air and can provoke an allergic reaction when they come into contact with human skin, often resulting in red, itchy rashes that can last for several weeks. The hairs can also cause respiratory problems for people with chronic conditions, like asthma.
Rep. Pingree decries cuts to Planned Parenthood, Medicaid

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

May 28—Rep. Chellie Pingree on Wednesday slammed the House Republicans' budget bill for targeting Planned Parenthood's federal funding and for the bill's overall health cutbacks to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. "If this bill passes, you would be seeing a massive loss in access to health care," Pingree, D-1st District, said during a roundtable discussion she hosted at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England offices in Portland.
Closure of Augusta pediatric clinic creates long waitlists for children with developmental needs

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

May 27—Sara Wing said her 11-year-old daughter needs to see a specialist who can make a diagnosis because she suspects her daughter has a developmental disability. Such a diagnosis would unlock Medicaid services and likely result in her daughter getting extra help at school. But Wing said when the Edmund Ervin Pediatric Center at MaineGeneral Health in Augusta closed on May 16 — a move that blindsided her — it left her with no access to someone who can make that diagnosis.