BRUNSWICK

On the final day of the Maine legislative session, both chambers of the Legislature overrode Gov. Paul Le- Page’s veto of Sen. Everett “Brownie” Carson’s public health nursing bill.

“There is no greater obligation for elected officials than ensuring the health and wellbeing of the residents in this great state, and public health nurses are the vanguard of our public health system,” said Carson, D-Harpswell. “For six years, this administration has attacked our public health infrastructure. This bill is a critical step to reversing the damage.”

The bill was one of several veto overrides last Wednesday, as the Legislature attempted to wrap up its affairs before adjourning until the next session.

Public health nurses provide a number of services, from home visits to pregnant women and young mothers to crisis response services. With the opioid epidemic ongoing, public health nurses also assist with drug-affected infants.

The number of public health nurses has declined significantly during the LePage administration. While 59 public health nurses were employed in 2011, only a third of those positions are now filled.

“We have noticed a decrease in accessibility and increased declination of referrals by the Public Health Nursing service over the past several years, thus creating a gap, particularly in maternal-newborn care,” said Ellen Golding, director of Maternity Services for Mid Coast Hospital, in testimony on the bill earlier this year. “This includes denials for new mothers with behavioral health and substance-use during pregnancy concerns.”

As amended, Carson’s bill requires the state to employ 48 public health nurses.

“These dedicated health professionals protect us from disease outbreaks, they work with our families to ensure the health of our children, and they address a dire need for preventative health services at the community level. They work with anyone, regardless of their income or their insurance status,” said Carson.

In his veto letter to the Legislature, LePage called the bill unnecessary and claimed that his administration is undertaking efforts to reform the program.

“This bill is unnecessary and attempts to micro-manage basic human resource functions at the Department of Health and Human Services,” wrote the governor. “It is grounded in an artificial crisis meant to engender fear by insinuating that the entirety of the public’s health and well-being rests on the shoulders of a very small fraction of a state agency workforce.”

LePage went on to list several reforms the department is undertaking, including focusing public health nurses’ work on “populations that truly need our help,” dispatching public health nurses from district offices instead of their homes and putting in place an electronic health record system, among other things.

Carson, however, told The Times Record earlier this year that he had difficulty getting answers about the program from the administration, noting that any changes being considered were happening without a public conversation.

The Senate voted to override the governor on a 29-5 vote, and the House did the same on a 101-34 vote.

nstrout@timesrecord.com