Testimony of the Maine Medical Association
In Support of
L.D. 1710, An Act to Restore Maine’s School Based Health Centers

Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services
Room 209, Cross State Office Building
Thursday, January 18, 2018, 1:00 pm 

Good afternoon Senator Brakey, Representative Hymanson, and Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services. I am Peter Michaud, Associate General Counsel for the Maine Medical Association (MMA) and a registered nurse. I live in Readfield, and I am speaking in support of LD 1710, An Act to Restore Maine’s School Based Health Centers.

The MMA is a professional association representing more than 4,000 physicians, residents, and medical students in Maine whose mission is to support Maine physicians, advance the quality of medicine in Maine, and promote the health of all Maine citizens. We represent physicians from all medical specialties, as well as public health and primary care.

Children who are not healthy cannot learn. Children who cannot learn end up in a position of socio-economic disadvantage that may well follow them their entire lives. Educationally and economically disadvantaged citizens yield a disadvantaged state.

School based health centers are a powerful tool to achieve health equity among children and adolescents from disparate economic, ethnic, or geographic backgrounds. They provide easy access to age-appropriate health care for patients at a time and place where they are most likely to avail themselves of those services. Students can be treated for minor injuries, acute conditions like flu, or chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes. They can also be screened for dental, vision, and hearing problems. Through prevention (including cancer prevention and smoking prevention), early intervention, and risk reduction the centers can help protect our young people from illness, injury, violence, and other health threats. They also provide grief therapy, help with peer pressure, bullying and suicide prevention. A health center in the school can provide far broader and more effective services than can a single school nurse; they complement each other.

Defunding these health centers last year was a mistake. Seeing this issue as a competition between tobacco prevention and primary health care is also a mistake. Most of all, diverting money from the Fund for a Healthy Maine to pay for day-to-day MaineCare costs is a mistake. You can start to correct these mistakes now by passing LD 1710.

We respectfully ask you to vote the bill “Ought To Pass.” I would be happy to respond to any questions you may have.