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The Choose To Be Healthy Coalition Newsletter ~ March
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What's New and Coming Up in Our Communities
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Changes at the Choose To Be
Healthy Coalition 
Long-time
Coalition Director Deb Erickson-Irons is moving to a new role at York
Hospital. Deb will direct the transition of York Hospital's Family
Practice Groups to patient-centered medical homes. Sue Patterson,
formerly the Healthy Maine Partnership Coordinator, is the new
Coalition Director and Natalie Gould has been hired to work as the
Community Health Specialist. Caitlin Crane, RD, recently joined the
team as the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--formerly
known as Food Stamps) Nutrition Educator. Lynne Hatch works with retailers to
prevent the sale of tobacco products to underage customers. Sally
Manninen continues as the Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator and
Amanda Carey is the Youth Coordinator. Choose To Be Healthy recently
moved to a new office on the York Hospital campus. They are located at
2 Hospital Drive, Suite 2B.
"The
Choose To Be Healthy Coalition has been in existence for 14 years. We
plan to continue to grow and change with our communities' health needs.
We welcome new coalition partners. We would love to explain our work
and give you a tour of our new office space," said Coalition
Director Sue Patterson.
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York County Youth Substance Abuse
Rates: Mostly Going Down
Past
30 day use of tobacco, alcohol and prescription drugs have all gone
down overall in York County high schools, according to the latest
Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey results from 2013. However, in
some of the high schools that CTBH works with, underage drinking,
especially binge drinking has increased. The coalition is helping those
communities come together to look at why and what can be done. 
Another
piece of data that is concerning: while past 30 day use of
marijuana has remained relatively unchanged since 2009 at 23% among
9-12th graders, 52% think regular use is NOT harmful - a
significant increase from 40% in 2009. Visit the Maine Public Health
website to see all of the results for York County and
Maine. To hear more about the results and what we are doing
together, come to CTBH's next coalition meeting on March 27th. FMI: smanninen@yorkhospital.com.
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 Problem Gambling
Did you know that between 8 and 12 million
people meet the criteria for having gambling problems? March has
become one of the biggest gambling occasions because of the massive
popularity of the "March Madness" Basketball
Tournament. Many problem gamblers suffer in silence because they
don't know why they developed a problem, what gambling addiction is, or
where to get help.
Some
of the signs of problem gambling are preoccupation with gambling, lying
to loved ones about gambling behavior, borrowing money to gamble, loss
of interest in other activities, and unexplained absences for long
periods of time. If you or a loved one are experiencing one or any
of these symptoms, help is available through the Maine Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services. A confidential helpline is also
available by dialing 2-1-1 (Maine only) for information and
resources.
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Maine is Raising Awareness of
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Maine is raising
awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder by urging women to avoid
all alcohol while pregnant. Maine's Office of Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services says fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is 100
percent preventable and there is no safe time, amount or type of
alcohol during pregnancy. More than 9 percent of pregnant women ages 15
to 44 in Maine reported that they were drinking alcohol. Every
year, more than 40,000 children throughout the country are born with
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Use
of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs at any time during
pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, sudden
infant death syndrome and serious life-long ill effects in the baby.
The Maine Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHS)
has a new initiative to help prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
through educational resources for pregnant women. If you would
like to order posters and brochures for your offices, clients, and
patients, contact Natalie at 351-2662 or email ngould@yorkhospital.com.
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CTBH
Applauds CVS and Other Local Stores' New Tobacco Policies
CVS, the nation's
second-largest drugstore chain, is the first national pharmacy company
to stop selling tobacco products. President and CEO Larry J. Merlo was
quoted saying "The sale of tobacco products is inconsistent
with our purpose - helping people on their path to better health."
Recently,
Spiller's Farm Store, Allard's Market and Pine Tree Country Store were
recognized by the CTBH coalition for complying with the NO
BUTS! Program. NO BUTS! (Blocking Underage Tobacco Sales) gives
retailers the tools needed to help prevent underage tobacco use.
Underage tobacco use is a public health concern in Maine - one in five
Maine high school students use tobacco products and many start as young
as 12 or 13. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death
today in the United States. For more information on becoming a NO
BUTS! store, contact Lynne Hatch at lhatch2@yorkhospital.com or 207-351-2656.
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CTBH
Coalition Meeting
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Wells
Activity Center
113
Sanford Rd.
Thursday,
March 27th
3:30-5:00
PM
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 York
Hospital in Wells
112-114
Sanford Rd.
Tuesday,
March 25th
3:00-7:00
PM
Celebrate
Spring!
Learn about YH services
in Wells plus fun activities,
food, giveaways.
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March
is National
Nutrition Month
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Our
Lead Agency
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The Choose To Be Healthy Coalition is a local Healthy Maine Partnership
and Drug Free Communities Coalition serving
Berwick, Eliot, Kittery, Lebanon, North Berwick, Ogunquit, South Berwick,
Wells and York.
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