With the healthcare worker vaccine mandate going into effect, Maine healthcare facilities that have already faced significant staffing issues will now have to deal with critical shortages.

Some facilities, like Central Maine Medical Center, have closed units or a percentage of overall beds. Others have been forced to divert emergency cases from coming to their Emergency Departments, causing potentially life threatening delays. Many EMS crews are operating with a fraction of the staffing needed, which could impact the time it takes to get an ambulance to respond to an emergency.

If you or someone you love has been impacted by the mandate-induced shortages, whether in a hospital, nursing home, doctor’s office, or other location, I need to hear your story.

If you are a staff member who has seen care impacted by the mandate, or lost your job as a result of it, please share your experience here.

The far reaching impacts of this mandate have been minimized by the administration that put the mandate into place. We MUST hear from Maine people in order to accurately assess the impact of this overreaching policy.