LEWISTON — When Olivia the cat started having violent seizures multiple times a week, the vet prescribed the anticonvulsant Keppra. It helped. A bit. When Jackie and Victor Leclerc could get Olivia to take it — because, you know. Cats. At one point, she was on the highest dose possible and getting pills forced on […]
Vets
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
New opioid rules largely silent on veterinarian concerns
The state has released new rules for doctors, veterinarians and pharmacies in support of a state law designed to curb drug abuse by setting limits on opioid prescriptions. Veterinarians had hoped the rules would address a host of concerns about their role in the policing of opioid prescriptions. They don’t. “There aren’t very many changes […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine, sj-web, Uncategorized
Veterinarians upset about role in new Maine opioid law
Dr. Gary Stuer examines Pearl, a Great Dane, at the Bethel Animal Hospital on Tuesday afternoon. Stuer prescribes pain medication for the 3-year-old dog. When one of Gary Stuer’s four-legged patients gets hurt, has surgery or is living with cancer, the Bethel veterinarian prescribes pain medicine. Sometimes that pain medicine is an opioid. “For years, […]
Posted inMaine
Vet Center still short-staffed in Lewiston
AUGUSTA — Just a day after officials with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs notified members of Maine’s congressional delegation that they had filled one of four vacant mental health counseling positions for Lewiston’s Vet Center, a veteran who attends counseling sessions at the center said another counselor has left. On Thursday, a Korean War […]
Posted inMaine
Vets Center leader to visit Maine after staff shortages prompt concerns
LEWISTON — A shortage of mental health counselors at the Vets Center in Lewiston that drew the attention of Maine’s Congressional delegation has also prompted a visit from the acting regional manager for the program. That manager, Steven Reeves of Fairfield, Calif., who is also the manager for the Vets Center program in the Pacific […]
Posted inMaine
Lewiston’s state lawmakers urge congressional delegation to keep heat on VA
LEWISTON — State lawmakers from Lewiston are urging Maine’s U.S. congressional delegation to keep the heat on the federal Veterans Affairs Administration until vacant counseling positions at the city’s vet center are filled. “Failure to fill these positions with competent, qualified individuals is a serious health and safety concern for our veterans, not to mention […]
Posted inMaine
Local vet center counseling, leadership jobs unfilled
LEWISTON — A shortage of mental health counselors at the Veteran Center in Lewiston has Maine’s U.S. Congressional delegation pushing for answers and Lewiston Mayor Robert Macdonald warning that a desperate, untreated veteran might act violently. As a measure of the problem, veterans and counselors say the local center has been without a team leader […]
Posted inMaine
Legislative panel ponders bills to build Maine task force for veterans
AUGUSTA — A Lewiston lawmaker and Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan wants Maine to take a hard look at how the state helps veterans who return home after their service. State Rep. Jared Golden, D-Lewiston, said Wednesday that the state’s Bureau of Veterans Services does many good things and offers many […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills, River Valley
Woodstock selectmen approve eligibility policy for veterans memorials
WOODSTOCK — All three selectmen voted Tuesday evening to approve a policy outlining eligibility for having names on all future veterans memorials. Among the requirements are: Service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard or Merchant Marines; official discharge papers; legal residency in Woodstock when they entered the military and now. Much of […]