MILLINOCKET, Maine — A federally qualified center serving the Katahdin Valley appears to have recently laid off some workers.
On Monday, the Maine Department of Labor’s Rapid Response team was reaching out to offer services for any impacted workers at Katahdin Valley Health Center, an organization that serves 20,000 low-income Mainers across the region.
Jessica Picard, a spokesperson for the state agency, was unable to offer specific information about the cuts, and officials with the health center have not responded to requests for more information about them.
According to the Department of Labor, its Rapid Response programs are meant to help businesses and workers during and after a layoff.
The organization’s nine health centers are located in Ashland, Brownsville, Dover-Foxcroft, Houlton, Lincoln, Millinocket, Patten and South Patten. Most of them offer primary and behavioral health care, dental, wellness and other support services.
These job losses come as Republicans in Congress consider cutting Medicaid funds and as the Trump administration eliminates jobs at several federal health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.
Additionally, because of a funding shortfall, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services is planning to begin temporarily holding MaineCare payments to some participating providers starting Wednesday if more funds are not released by state lawmakers, it announced Monday. MaineCare is the state’s Medicaid program.
Any workers statewide who are impacted by a layoff should reach out to their local CareerCenter, which can help connect them to reemployment services, training and other information, Picard said.
The Maine Department of Labor CareerCenter can be reached by email at MaineDOL.CareerCenter@maine.gov or by phone at 207-623-7981.
