Maine AHEC Network is a partner on UNE’s new HRSA Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, Northern Border Rural Workforce grant award. The project is led by School of Pharmacy Associate Professor Devon Anne Sherwood, Pharm.D., BCPP, with support from staff at UNE’s new School of Public and Planetary Health, where the UNE AHEC Program also now resides. The grant will establish a certification program for UNE’s health professions students, as well as current health care providers across all of Maine’s rural counties looking to advance their skills, to gain competency in integrated, interprofessional approaches to medication-assisted treatment (MAT), medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and medication-assisted recovery (MAR) therapies, with the ultimate aim of bolstering the mental health workforce in rural communities. For a link on more program details, visit the full UNE news story at this link.
This story was featured by News Center Maine, during which they interviewed two graduates from the Maine AHEC Scholars Program. Following graduation from UNE and the Scholars Program, Andrea Stemm and Greg Griffin have become Physician Assistants as Sacopee Valley Health Center. During the interview, Andrea Stemm shared the following quote about choosing to work in rural Maine, “I was drawn to rural medicine because there is a huge difference to be made.” To see the full story with a clip of Andrea and Greg in action, visit this link.
