Author: Julia Bentley

In recent weeks, documented cases of police brutality amid the pandemic have sparked a national conversation about criminal justice reform. Regardless of our diverse opinions regarding law enforcement and the Black Lives Matter movement, this is an opportunity to thoughtfully consider if there is room for systemic reform. The fact of the matter is, there are flaws in our criminal justice system. One policy that has contributed to the glaring division for decades now, with little discernible benefit, is the war on drugs. Data indicate that the war on drugs has been a policy failure. Drug laws were originally designed…

Rural states, including Maine, are facing an impending health care crisis: we are running out of health professionals who can prescribe, monitor reactions to and adjust medications. Part of the problem is that medical professionals are distributed unevenly and in short supply for those who are at the greatest risk for health problems in rural states like ours. And unfortunately, doctors, physicians’ assistants and nurse practitioners––those who often provide medication management services––are for the most part older. Because health professionals are already unevenly dispersed throughout our state, and because those who can provide medication management services are moving into retirement,…

During periods of crisis, some of the most innovative solutions to problems have been developed. Consider, for instance, some of the creative responses to the COVID-19 crisis so far—distilleries have started making hand sanitizer to meet a health care need, the Zoom platform is now a standard mode of communication for many organizations, and throughout Maine and the rest of the United States, telehealth doctor’s visits are increasingly the norm. Necessity spurs innovation. The COVID-19 crisis is presenting Maine with a perfect opportunity to reimagine a system that needs immediate change—our education system. In a working draft list of recommendations…

On June 11, Maine’s Department of Education (DOE) released a working draft listing a series of recommendations that may be used by schools to aid them in reopening this fall. The list includes a number of common-sense recommendations, such as bolstering efforts to keep student spaces clean, reducing classroom capacity and developing remote curriculum options in the event of a sharp increase in cases. However, closer scrutiny indicates that the DOE’s method to implement these strategies doesn’t make sense. In their working draft, the DOE says that “Maine DOE, in partnership with CDC and MEMA, will determine when it is…

Within the state of Maine, an ongoing mental health crisis persists even in the era of COVID-19. In lieu of better options, a high volume of individuals with mental health concerns have been arriving at emergency departments (EDs) for years now in need of care, swamping our healthcare system. Mental health concerns are the number one reason for unnecessary visits to emergency departments nationwide. Some of these patients are then transferred to inpatient psychiatric units (IPUs), where they sometimes stay for unnecessarily long periods of time. Unnecessary hospitalization of mentally ill patients is detrimental to individuals, hospitals, and taxpayers alike. In an effort…