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Notes from APP and NMDC
Volume 2, Issue 60
August 16, 2013
In This Issue
More Great Region
Health Care Sector Grant
Investor Spotlight
NMDC named a key leading organization for Maine's Great Region
 

   PRESQUE ISLE - Aroostook, Washington and Piscatquis counties share many of the same strengths and challenges. It is the common assets, which has lead to the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development to name the counties Maine's first Great Region.

Bob Clark
    NMDC Executive Director Bob Clark makes a presentation at the unveiling of Maine's Great Region.

     The designation was unveiled Thursday, Aug. 8 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle by USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel. In making the announcement, she also identified the selection of three key leading organizations, Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC), Sunrise County Economic Council and Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, which will join in facilitating activities in the Great Region.

   "The USDA defines a Great Region as a multi-county region with a regional economic development plan developed by a local/regional team with broad participation, where the plan is built upon careful analysis of the region's assets, including its key current and emerging economic clusters," said Manuel.

   Those clusters for Maine's Great Region are agriculture and forestry, specifically supporting local and regional food systems and promoting the bio-based economy.

   "Our economy is built on our natural resources and it's primarily forestry, agriculture and the associated manufacturing and processing facilities that support those industries," said NMDC Executive Director Bob Clark.

   He added much work has already been done to augment the growth of the biomass energy cluster in northern Maine through the Mobilize Northern Maine effort. Mobilize Northern Maine is a strategic planning effort utilized by NMDC and Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP) to help focus economic development efforts. Clark indicated that over the past two years there has been more than 20 commercial biomass boiler installations resulting in a net savings over fuel oil of $1.7 million. Many of those installations were funded, in part, by USDA Rural Development. On the residential side, pellet stove and boiler sales are up by more than 12 percent from 2011 to 2012.

   Also in the past few months, NMDC has been engaged with agriculture trying to assist in the development of a diversified agriculture cluster.

   "To be called a Great Region, not only is a special designation by USDA, but it also implies a responsibility to partner with us to figure out ways based on the strengths of the three counties to promote even more economic growth in the region," said Manuel.

   Clark added that although the Great Region designation does not mean any upfront financial assistance, it might mean preference in applying for certain USDA grants.

   Aroostook, Washington and Piscataquis are the only areas in Maine to receive the designation. In the northeast, the only other Great Region is in Vermont, where the goals include a mixed-use retail and food-processing center, a goat milk producers association and environmental service market.

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Grant helps increase wages and better train health care workers in the region

   In the world of grants sometimes the results are subtle, or in case of the Maine Health Care Sector Grant the results jump off the page.

   The grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, U.S. Department of Labor and managed by the Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC)/Local Workforce Investment Board Area 1 ended June 30, but not before 1,035 people in Maine furthered their health care education. Moreover, not only did the grant fill a workforce need, it resulted in a $3.50 per hour wage increase for incumbent workers. Unemployed workers made up 25 percent of the total enrollment in the training program.

   Of the nearly $4.9 million awarded to the state, about $700,000 was earmarked to train people in the health care field in Aroostook and Washington counties.

   Jennifer Tweedie was one of 22 employees from TAMC (The Aroostook Medical Center) who took advantage of the opportunity. She is currently the Coordinator of Infection Prevention and Employee Services, but at the time of the training, she was a staff RN in the Emergency Department. The grant paid for all costs associated with her earning a critical care certificate.

   "The course enabled me to broaden my knowledge in caring for the critically ill," she said. "In doing so, I became a more skilled nurse and was better able to provide optimum care to the patients that presented to the Emergency Department here at TAMC. Though my career path has since changed, I was able to utilize the critical care course as an elective course toward my Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from the University of Maine at Fort Kent. This allowed me to complete my degree a semester earlier and was to my benefit financially."

   "We at TAMC are very pleased with the additional financial assistance provided to staff members here via the Health Care Sector Grant," said Tom Umphrey, TAMC Vice President of Employee Services. "Some individuals (22 in total) were helped in obtaining an associate's degree, others a bachelor's degree, and still others a master's degree, along with various special training aid as well. This grant is an excellent example of effective partnering between all agencies and persons involved."

   "These types of industry sector partnerships are exactly what we need in our local areas," said Ryan Pelletier, director of economic and workforce development at NMDC. "Employers throughout the region that I speak with ask for two things, more funding for the incumbent workforce and WorkReady soft skills training for new hires. There isn't a lot of funding in traditional workforce programs to train existing employees, so we are constantly looking for discretionary funds such as these health care grants to support our region's employers."

   Other heath care organizations taking advantage of the grant included 14 employees at the Calais Regional Hospital, six at Downeast Community Hospital in Machias, three at Highview Rehab and Living Center in Madawaska, two at Katahdin Valley Health Center in Patten, eight at St. Joseph Nursing Home in Frenchville, four at Presque Isle Rehab and Nursing Home, two at Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent, and one each at Cary Medical Center in Caribou, Houlton Regional Hospital, Community Living Association and Gardiner Nursing Home in Houlton.

   Northern Maine Community College benefited in two separate ways. Three employees, who train the next generation of health care workers, advanced their education and nine students participated in the grant.

   "The Health Care Sector Grant was very beneficial for me as I embarked on my journey toward achieving my master's of Science Degree in Nursing," said Susan Dugal, RN who is on the nursing faculty at NMCC. "The grant allowed me to focus on academic success because I did not have to work increased hours at my second job to pay for tuition and books. This also allowed me to complete assignments on time and to graduate with my MSN in less than a year after being admitted to the program. I am thankful to have been a grant recipient and to those who wrote and administered the grant."

   "This grant was unusual in that we were able to advance the education of not only unemployed workers, but also incumbent workers and even help some students attain their master's degree to relieve the bottleneck at the clinical instruction level," said Tracy Tweedie, NMDC program manager. "That is quite uncommon in the world of education grants. The purpose of this grant was to help increase the level of income for the people of Maine, both the employed and the unemployed, and underemployed. We were able to do this quite successfully and with great results." 

Investor Spotlight

   Investors in the Aroostook Partnership for Progress are as varied as the businesses that call The County home. One of the most recent investors is Lynox Inc.
   Lynox Inc., (formerly Welding Supply Co.), started business in the early 1950s. The third generation Lynch family purchased the business in December 1993 and renamed it Lynox Welding Supply. At that time, Lynox Cleaning Systems was started, more closely identifying the pressure washer side of the business. Lynox Welding
The business has since been expanded to include solvent free parts washers, detergents, water cleaning, utilizing evaporation and water filtrations/recycling to meet the ever-demanding requirements set forth by the many federal and state agencies.
   According to the company's website, "We strive to provide the highest quality competitively priced products to our expanding customer base in addition to backing that up with a highly skilled service program allowing our customers the advantage of service after the sale with the same company. A simple and friendly approach often lost when dealing with the big box stores." 

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