Joshua Charles Woodburn

Healthcare

As a substance abuse nurse I witnessed first hand the shortage of finances to handle drug and alcohol addiction.  We were unable to offer many patients the 30 day program they needed to ensure that they would stay sober.  Instead we were only able to help a patient detox and then try outpatient treatment.  The patients had no access to transportation or the prescription medication they were prescribed. Learn more

I would look to increase funding to support the community in accessing healthcare that does not lead to a financial crisis for a working family.  As a nurse I have seen the end result of delayed healthcare and how easy it would have been to treat a patient early if they had the financial support to see a physician.  If we do not support healthcare the costs are passed on to the rest of the population which causes a spiraling affect of more costs, more delayed care,and more costly interventions. Learn more

I believe we need to do more to draw an increased number of health care providers to rural Maine.  No one should have to wait months or almost a year to get in to see a physician in their town.  We also need to do more to keep our nurses. Many hospitals have units that are almost entirely made up of Agency or Travel nurses from all over the country because our local hospitals can't get enough Maine nurses to fill the open positions. We need to offer assistance for Mainers to become nurses, especially with the aging population of Maine- we'll need nurses more then ever. Learn more