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

Lawmaker, advocates say Maine needs new Office of the Child Advocate

5 days ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

May 9—Lawmakers and child welfare advocates want to create a new independent state agency — the Office of the Child Advocate — to strengthen watchdog services, advise state government on child welfare complaints and make recommendations to help improve the child protective system.
Sen. Collins calls hearing on 'harmful' Trump cuts to scientific research

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

Apr. 30—U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, criticized the Trump administration for cutbacks to biomedical research during an interview with the Press Herald before a Senate committee hearing on the cuts Wednesday morning. The Senate Appropriations Committee, which Collins chairs, is hearing testimony from scientists at 10:30 a.m. in Washington, D.C., including from Dr. Hermann Haller, president of Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Maine.
Portland man, 74, turns first Boston Marathon into a race to save Alzheimer's research

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Joe Lawlor

Apr. 12—Sporting a bright yellow "End Alz" jersey, a white baseball cap and blue-green neck warmer, Ralph Carmona bounced up and down on his wiry legs, warming up for a run on a sunny but brisk morning in Portland. As he ran uphill onto the Eastern Promenade, Casco Bay stretched out to his left, shimmering in the sun.
Maine’s hospitals are in dire financial shape, report says

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Joe Lawlor |Daniel Kool

Maine’s hospitals are in a precarious financial position compared to most of the nation, according to a report released by the Maine Hospital Association on Wednesday. The analysis, conducted by PYA, a national health care consulting firm, shows that Maine’s PPS, “prospective payment system” hospitals, which include all of the major hospitals in Maine — such as those affiliated with MaineHealth, Northern Light Health and Central Maine Healthcare — are collectively in dire financial shape.
Social Security head called Gov. Mills a ‘petulant child’ in email ordering staff to cancel Maine contracts

1 month ago | centralmaine.com | Joe Lawlor

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Social Security head called Gov. Mills a ‘petulant child’ in email ordering staff to cancel Maine contracts

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Joe Lawlor

A senior House Democrat is calling on acting Social Security Administrator Lee Dudek to resign following revelations that the official called Maine Gov. Janet Mills a “petulant child” in an email to staff demanding retribution for her White House dust-up with President Donald Trump.
Dozens laid off at Maine CDC as a result of federal cutbacks

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Joe Lawlor

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention will lay off 40 subcontracted workers as a result of federal cutbacks announced last week. Lindsay Hammes, Maine CDC spokesperson, said Monday that the 40 workers are “subcontracted personnel impacted by these federal funding terminations. All of those people were subcontracted through vendors working with the Maine CDC.”The Maine CDC has more than 500 employees.
Details of federal cuts to Maine DHHS unknown, but layoffs are possible

1 month ago | centralmaine.com | Joe Lawlor

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Details of federal cuts to Maine DHHS unknown, but layoffs are possible

1 month ago | pressherald.com | Joe Lawlor

Workers at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services were bracing for possible layoffs Friday while the impact of federal funding cuts was still unknown. State officials announced on Thursday that the federal government immediately ended dozens of COVID-era contracts for Maine totaling $91 million. It was part of $11 billion in national cuts to state and local health agencies this week.
Maine officials assess impact of nationwide cut to federal health funding

1 month ago | sunjournal.com | Joe Lawlor

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