News Releases

Sagamore Health Center Dedication and Forum for Uninsured Part of Cover the Uninsured Week 2004 at USM

May 6, 2004

The University of Southern Maine College of Nursing and Health Professions is celebrating Cover the Uninsured Week 2004 with events on Monday, May 10, and Tuesday, May 11.

Monday, May 10, marks the dedication of the Sagamore Health Center, a partnership of the Maine Medial Center, Portland Public Housing Authority and the University of Southern Maine College of Nursing and Health Professions. The ceremony will take place from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Center. Presentations will be made by Vincent S. Conti, president and CEO of Maine Medical Center, Marjorie S. Wiggins, vice president for nursing and chief nursing officer at Maine Medical Center, USM Provost Joseph S. Wood, and Peter Howe, executive director of the Portland Public Housing Authority. The public is invited and a reception will follow the presentation. Information relating to insurance and health care will be available.

Sagamore Health Center provides health care to residents of Sagamore Village, a public housing community. Without the Center, staffed in part by USM nursing students, many residents would go without routine health screenings, education, and referrals that many Americans have come to take for granted. For more information on the center, see www.usm.maine.edu/conhp/sagamore_health_clinic.htm.

On Tuesday, May 11, a panel of policy makers, health care providers, and consumers will provide a forum for students, staff and faculty at the University of Southern Maine to more fully understand the issues surrounding the uninsured in Maine. The panel, moderated by Paul Johnson from the School of Social Work, will be held between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the Woodbury Campus Center Amphitheater on USM's Portland campus. The public is invited to attend this educational offering. Various local organizations will be on hand to provide information on programs and services available to the uninsured in southern Maine.

Cover the Uninsured Week 2004 promises to be the largest mobilization effort in history to make the issue of the uninsured a focus of national discussion. The week is being planned for May 10Ð16, 2004, by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a diverse group of national organizations with the intention of bringing to light the needs of the nearly 44 million Americans, including 8.5 million children, living without health coverage.

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