Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 9 A P R I L 4 , 2 0 1 6 spending since its initial conservation purchase of the Katahdin Iron Works tract in 2003. e study, "AMC's con- tributions to the Maine economy," was prepared by David Vail, Adams-Catlin professor of economics emeritus at Bowdoin College. It analyzed AMC's activities and spending in the region and the spending of its overnight guests and program participants. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N The Maine Department of Health and Human Services in Augusta re- ceived an $800,000 grant from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to support substance abuse treatment and recov- ery services for youth aged 12–24. The Economic Development Administra- tion awarded the Maine Department of Transportation $1 million in funding to support the construction of the In- terstate 95 Trafton Road Interchange in Waterville. The funding will also support the realignment of an adjacent roadway to provide unobstructed access to ex- isting industrial facilities in Waterville. Heatek Energy LLC in Auburn part- nered with Evoworld Inc. in Troy, N.Y., to provide customers with affordable wood chip and wood pellet boilers. Redzone Wirele ss will add staff Redzone Wireless LLC — a startup backed by a $4 million loan from Camden National Bank that's insured by the Finance Authority of Maine TO MANAGE MILLIONS OF FOOD-SERVICE ORDERS WITHOUT ERROR... . . .T R U S T T H E E X P E R I E N C E O F I T S . " T H I S S E R V E R ' S C A PAC I T Y J U S T R E AC H E D DATA O V E R LOA D ! " " T H I S I T S O LU T I O N S TO P O W E R YO U R G R O W T H I T S N E . C O M / H E A LT H 8 8 8 - 2 6 4 - 7 8 5 2 ITS helps North American Food Service clients deliver the Perfect Order. Our highly skilled and certified engineers have decades of experience fine-tuning hardware and infrastructure solutions for independent distributors. With the warehouse management expertise of our Target Data Systems affiliate, we can make your deliveries more complete, reduce returns, improve pricing and help your customers streamline their orders—daily or weekly, shift after shift. Two reports identify Maine's health care challenges The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's 2016 County Health Rankings, an annual snapshot comparing the overall health of nearly every county in the nation, identifi es Sagadahoc County as being once again Maine's healthiest county. Bath and Topsham are the largest communities in the midcoast county. Sagadahoc is followed by Cumberland, Knox, York and Lincoln counties. Washington County is Maine's unhealthiest spot, according to the rankings. The Princeton, N.J.-based foundation looks at 30 factors that infl uence health, including education, housing, violent crime, jobs, diet and exercise. The rankings are also used as a benchmark for MaineHealth's Health Index Report, which was released the same day and has become a barometer of progress on seven of Maine's most- pressing health priorities: Childhood immunizations, tobacco use, obesity, preventable hospitalizations, cardiovascular deaths, cancer deaths and prescription drug abuse and addiction. Together, the two reports provide insight into community health trends, progress and challenges in Maine and across the country, MaineHealth stated in a release highlighting some of the fi ndings in its sixth annual health index report. Key fi ndings of MaineHealth's report: ¡ Drug overdose death rates in Maine rose more sharply than the national rate between 2010–14. Perhaps contrary to common perception, 48% of drug deaths in 2012–14 were individuals aged 45 or older. ¡ There was a sharp increase in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome — babies born to drug-addicted mothers. When tracking of this syndrome began in 2004, 54 Maine babies were identifi ed; in 2015, this number rose to more than 1,000. ¡ Index targets for fi ve of the seven priorities were met in 2015; MaineHealth is setting aggressive new targets for 2020 and adding short-term measures to track progress. ¡ On-time childhood vaccination rates showed continued improvement. Up-to-date rates for eight of 10 individual vaccine rates increased across the 39 MaineHealth pedi- atric and family medicine practices from 2014–15, as did the up-to-date rate for the 10-vaccine bundle. ¡ Cardiovascular deaths remain a challenge: While age- adjusted rate of stroke deaths decreased from 2002– 14, the rate of decline for all types of cardiovascular deaths has slowed in recent years, with little to no change between 2010 and 2014. ¡ Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death. Maine high school students' use of tobacco declined signifi cantly in 2015 to 16%, but a trend of e-vapor and e-cigarettes has emerged, with one-third of the students indicating they had tried and over 18% had used such products within the last 30 days. ¡ An "encouraging" fl attening in the state's obesity trend among both adults and youth. The estimated percent of adults with obesity has not increased from 2012–14, while the rate for students in grades 5–12 has remained steady from 2011–15. "The Health Index Report shows not just the facts and fi gures, but also details the substantial clinical, community and policy initiatives and partnerships under way that have contributed to the progress being made to improve the health of Maine people and communities," Deborah Deatrick, senior vice president for community health at MaineHealth, said in the release. MaineHealth is the Portland-based parent company of Maine Medical Center and several member and affi liated hospitals and health care services throughout Maine. — J a m e s M c C a r t h y — said it plans to add 30 to 40 jobs in Rockland over the next few months. e new jobs are on their way to the coastal city as part of a $60,000 reno- vation project on the third and fourth fl oors at the Breakwater Marketplace that is expected to be completed in May. Michael Forcillo, vice president of sales and marketing for Redzone Wireless, told the Bangor Daily News that the move to the new offi ce space "is consis- tent with our growth plans as we expand broadband coverage and capacity in Maine over the next few years." N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T The United States Department of Agriculture awarded a $130,000 telemedicine grant to Kno-Wal-Lin Home Care and Hospice in Rockland to enhance its existing telemedicine project by providing 50 additional tele- homecare monitors and peripherals to elderly, disabled and chronically ill residents of rural Maine. The board of directors of The First Bancorp, the parent company of First M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T

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