Community Driven Solutions: Washington County, Maine

The mission of the Maine Community Connections Initiative is to improve the health, wellness, and quality of life in small rural towns through service, advocacy, and community involvement.

Map of Maine with Washington County and Baileyville highlighted

The goal is to partner and assist towns with fewer than 5,000 residents located over 10 miles from a hospital. Resources will support local community-led initiatives, removing systemic barriers to address the social determinants of health.

Baileyville, located in Washington County, Maine, is the initial program site. Led by the town council, the Community Wellness Ad Hoc Committee is guiding efforts to address new and long-standing challenges that harm individual, family, and community well-being.

The committee conducted a community assessment in 2022, surveying students in the Woodland Jr/Sr High School and adults who live or work in Baileyville. The feedback was clear and the perceived needs consistent across age groups. This prompted a series of actions that are in various stages of implementation:

In early 2022, Woodland Elementary and Jr/Sr High Schools launched a pilot-tele-behavioral health program that was successful. This was followed by a large grant award from the Pull Up Fund that allowed the program to be expanded to all four schools in AOS 90 and added community health worker (CHW) service navigators at each of the schools to facilitate participation. This program will serve 74 students during the 2022–2023 school year and continue year-round through July 2025.
The school board and town council agreed to request Washington County Adult Education to re-launch course offerings in Baileyville. With agreement from other towns and funding from Point32Health, adult education began offering courses in northeastern Washington County in January 2023.
The National Digital Equity Center supported the Ad Hoc Committee to create a digital equity plan, which the town council adopted in 2023. This will result in: making in-person and virtual courses on topics related to using online resources available; assisting eligible residents to receive FCC subsidy to reduce internet cost; creating a town-funded utility assistance fund to help low-income residents access broadband; and implementing other efforts to increase the utilization of broadband, which is available to every house and building in Baileyville.

Location

Washington County, Maine, U.S.

Funders

Point32Health; Maine Health Access Foundation; Bingham Program; USDA RUS Distance Learning and Telehealth; Elmina B. Sewall Foundation; and Pull Up Fund

Partners

Baileyville Town Council, town manager, and residents; AOS 90 superintendent, school faculty, and staff; Community Caring Collaborative; Aroostook Mental Health Services; St. Croix Regional Family Health Center; State Representative Anne Perry and Senator Marianne Moore; IGIC Occupational Health; Point32Health; University of New England; Healthy Acadia; Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center; Maine Department of Human and Health Services (DHHS) Rural Health Transformation Task Force; and National Digital Equity Center

Duration

2021–Present

Contact

Kate Perkins
Senior Program Manager
kperkins@mcd.org

“We’ve torn down six dilapidated houses within the past few months and repaved many of the streets downtown, including a complete rebuild of Main Street this year. New sewer and water lines have been put in. Infrastructure money from the feds and a loan mean that we’ll replace the sewer main to the treatment plant, and we are about to construct a new playground adjacent to the Fourth Avenue tennis courts. When the residents see things looking better, they feel better about themselves and their community.”

—Chris Loughlin
Town Manager, Baileyville, Maine

“I can't imagine our community without the services we now have in place for students and community members … it's wonderful to see us focusing on ALL members of our community. I have been a lifelong resident of this community and finally see us doing something that is really focusing on the individual groups that exist in our town while at the same time trying to see how we can have students, seniors, and community members come together to make their community better. Very exciting work!”

—Patricia Metta
Superintendent, AOS 90

“I was at the elementary school playground with our navigator and overheard one of the students say to a friend, 'Hey, your parents are having problems. I’ve been going to therapy, maybe you should go to therapy, too.' It was such a great moment to witness – no stigma, no shame, just one kid talking to his friend. That’s the kind of impact that the numbers just don’t measure.”

—Jessica Melhiser
Manager, Children's Health Program
Aroostook Mental Health Services

Our Results

$1.8M

Raised from non-governmental sources to develop and implement programs in Washington County, Maine

380

Public school students now have access to health care via telehealth

71%

Of AOS 90 students have more access to food through school-run food pantry and distribution programs

In this video, learn more about school-based tele-behavioral health services at Princeton Elementary School from those directly involved:

Future Plans

This action has fueled interest and expanded into nearby communities, including:

The AOS applied for and received a grant in July 2022 from the Maine Department of Education to offer Enhanced Learning Opportunities with an emphasis on job-readiness, hands-on learning, and high-need careers. This work will continue through June 2024.
The Water and Sewer District received federal funding to replace aging pipes and repave substantial portions of the in-town infrastructure. Federal infrastructure funds enabled the town to repave streets and, in 2023, create a new publicly accessible playground next to the ball fields.
Work in Baileyville has grown into communities served by schools in Princeton and East Range where a community perspectives survey took place in fall 2022.
School-based food security program launched at one school in January 2023, and a school-based food and clothing pantry launched at another school in April 2023.
First aid, CPR, and AED training for high school students scheduled in April 2023 and followed by employment by the Baileyville Recreation Department to aid in staffing programs for elementary students after school and during the summer.
The Community Caring Collaborative is conducting outreach and listening sessions in communities in northeastern Washington County to identify other opportunities where local actions can grow.
Students planted winter seeds and will move them into new outdoor raised beds this spring. The school garden will welcome children to visit during the summer to weed and maintain the beds and then harvest. Produce harvested in the summer and fall will go home with the students.
Four adults were trained in first aid/CPR/AED for adults, children, and infants as well as assisted in finding funds so one of the schools could start a recreational program in summer 2023.

Interested in setting up this kind of program in your community?

Access the free School-Based Telehealth Toolkit on Telehealth Classroom Review materials from the Mental Health Promotion in the School Setting ECHO

Highlights of Our Work

Group photo of school staff and local partners involved in this initiative

"It works!" Principals and staff agree that the school-based, tele-behavioral health program is helping individual students and an important part of overall improving the atmosphere thoughout the school.

A school nurse showcasing the new tele-behavioral health equipment.

With modern telehealth equipment onsite, and support from the service navigator (left) or school nurse (right), students can access their existing health care providers without needing to leave school, reducing out-of-school time and transportation burdens.

Teens taking part in a family game night at one of the schools.

Students participating in one of the games available during Family Game Night at a school. From all types of gatherings, staff and families know that their schools are truly part of their community.

BIMEP staff working on analyzing and mitigating a mosquito breeding ground.

A commercial grade refrigerator arriving at one of the schools. The refrigerator allows staff to include fresh foods with what is being sent home ith students. From arrival to departure, students and staff volunteer to transform bulk food is distributed to reusable grocery bags and make sure everyone goes home with food for their family every month.

Group photo of some of the food pantry volunteers that includes both students and staff.

Volunteers receiving food and prepping it for distribution among students for their families..

Students and school staff members volunteering at one of the schools by organizing food into bags for students to take home.