Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance is excited to announce that the model, processes and results of the MOTIVATE Program have been recently published in the Journal Of Public Health Dentistry. MOTIVATE stands for Maine’s Oral Team Based Initiative: Vital Access to Education. At no cost to the organizations, this program provides education to the interprofessional team within nursing homes to properly support and provide oral health care for the residents. We are grateful to all our program site partners, our statewide advisory team members and authors for making this program a success and shareable with all.

Evidence supports the idea that brushing and flossing saves lives and prevents more costly health care. On June 11, Leonard Brennan, DMD and Denise O’Connell, MSW, LCSW, of the Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine’s MOTIVATE Program discussed the implications of oral health care on the overall health of older adults.

CAREGIVER ORAL HEALTH BELIEFS, CONVERSATIONS, AND ACCESS: FINDINGS FROM THE MOTIVATE AT HOME PROGRAM.
Jennifer Crittenden, Denise O’Connell, Labrini Nelligan

ASSESSING INTERPROFESSIONAL ORAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND PRACTICE FACILITATION OUTCOMES WITHIN LONG-TERM CARE.
Jennifer Crittenden, Rachel Coleman, David Wihry, Labrini Nelligan, Denise O'Connell

Lunder Dineen was invited to develop a three-part series on unhealthy alcohol use and Time To Ask for Amjambo Africa, a monthly publication dedicated to providing information and stories about the immigrant community in Portland, Maine.

Lunder Dineen was invited to develop a three-part series on unhealthy alcohol use and Time To Ask for Amjambo Africa, a monthly publication dedicated to providing information and stories about the immigrant community in Portland, Maine.

Lunder-Dineen's MOTIVATE oral health program was featured in the latest report from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research on behalf of the U.S. Surgeon General. The report, Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges, lists MOTIVATE as an example program that improves oral health for the frail elderly population.

Lunder Dineen was invited to develop a three-part series on unhealthy alcohol use and Time To Ask for Amjambo Africa, a monthly publication dedicated to providing information and stories about the immigrant community in Portland, Maine.

Lunder-Dineen’s Associate Director Denise O’Connell, MSW, LCSW, CCM, was recently interviewed by Newsradio WGAN’s Steve Woods and Dr. Jeff Barkin for their radio program, A Healthy Conversation. Dr. Barkin is a psychiatrist and current President of the Maine Medical Association. This informal but interesting and relevant brunch type conversation covers the topic of alcohol, its relationship to overall health and the efforts underway by Lunder-Dineen to educate health professionals about alcohol use to be better able to hold effective and informing conversations with patients so that patients can make informed decisions about their health. The program airs Sunday, March 13th at 11am on FM 98.5 and AM 560. To listen to the podcast click here: A Healthy Conversation 3/13 | Newsradio WGAN For more information about alcohol, consumption risk levels, alcohol’s impact on the body, and the Time to Ask Program, visit our website: Time to Ask: Unhealthy Alcohol Use If your health care practice would be interested in participating in this program, contact: Denise O’Connell, denise@lunderdineen.org

We are excited to share Lunder-Dineen Executive Director, Labrini Nelligan’s recent interview on The PR Maven® Podcast with host Nancy Marshall. Lunder-Dineen has had the pleasure of working with Nancy and her team at Marshall Communications for several years on Lunder-Dineen’s website, annual report and special marketing projects. In this podcast, Labrini shares her career journey to Lunder-Dineen and the unique partnership between Mass General and the Lunder Family and Foundation in Maine helping educate health professionals in Maine. You can now listen on your favorite podcast player.

An article about our Maine Nursing Preceptor Education Program appeared in the Feb/Mar/Apr 2020 issue of the ANA Maine Journal.

On December 17, 2019, Denise O’Connell (by phone), senior program manager, Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine, discussed the Time to Ask initiative on this program dealing with alcohol misuse and binge drinking in Maine.

On September 30, Lunder-Dineen MOTIVATE Advisory team members spoke with Senior Talk’s show host and moderator Carol Higgins Taylor about maintaining good oral health in older adults. The advisory team members included Lenard W. Kaye, DSW, PhD; Demi Kouzounas, DMD; and Timothy Oh. DMD, FACD, FPFA, FICD. They discussed how studies show a correlation between oral health and overall health.

On September 30, Lunder-Dineen Time to Ask advisory team members participated in the WVOM Senior Talk show. Lunder-Dineen guests included Stephanie Nichols, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP; Mary Lindsey Smith, PhD, MSW; and Lenard W. Kaye, DSW, PhD to discuss the impacts of substance use in the older adult population with show host/moderator Carol Higgins-Taylor. It is important for seniors, family members, and caregivers to understand the risks and effects of alcohol use in older adults.

On September 26, Lunder-Dineen Time to Ask Advisory team members participated in the WZON, The Pulse, AM 620 show. Mass General's John F. Kelly, PhD, ABPP joined Shawn Yardley, BSW, MBA, CEO of Community Concepts, and show host/moderator Don Cookson, to discuss the impacts of substance use, the importance of fostering and supporting those in recovery and recovery-oriented resources and programs for individuals and families across the state.

On September 15, Bruce Campbell, LCSW, LADC, CCS from Wellspring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services and the Bangor Area Recovery Network joined Dr. Noah Nesin, MD, FAAFP from Penobscot Community Health Care and Lunder-Dineen adviser, for the Noah's Notes segment of Good Morning Maine to discuss National Recovery Month and the issues facing Maine. National Recovery Month is the time to take action and help raise awareness for programs that strengthen our communities against substance use disorders.

In April 2017, Lunder-Dineen guests participated in a radio program on WZON AM620 — The Pulse to discuss Time to Ask/unhealthy alcohol use during April’s Alcohol Awareness month. Time to Ask Pilot advisory team members Shawn Yardley, BSW, MBA and Mark Publicker, and Denise O’Connell, LCSW, our senior program manager, contributed to the program.

Facing the Challenges of Oral Health Care for Seniors with Leonard Brennan, dentist and Co-Director of Harvard Geriatric Dental Fellowship Program, and his daughter Kathleen, a family practitioner (Maine), discussed age-prevalent oral conditions such as candidiasis (fungal infection) and xerostomia (dry mouth), which are associated with medication side effects.

Maine is developing a new educational pilot program to train health care providers who work with elders in long-term care facilities to better meet the needs of America’s most vulnerable population.

In Maine news this week there was a sad and disturbing story about a teenager arrested on charges of burglary, theft, criminal mischief and criminal trespass. According to an article in the Bangor Daily News, he was found naked in one of two homes he allegedly broke into. This is not a blog post about the teenager, but about the hallucinogenic drugs police believe he MAY have been on that night — bath salts.

FORT KENT - On August 5th, representatives from The Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine met with personnel from Northern Maine Medical Center (NMMC). The primary focus for the site visit was to share some of the innovation coming out of the Lunder-Dineen and Massachusetts General Hospital partnership. In addition to the currently available educational series which focus on the mental health of veterans and families, responding to use of bath salts and clinical applications for motivational interviewing, four new areas are being developed to meet the needs of patients in underserved areas of Maine. Current areas under development are older adult health, veterans’ health, alcohol and substance abuse and mental health.

STATEWIDE, Maine – Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine recently collaborated with University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine to launch five new, free, CME/CE-certified webinars covering prevalent health issues for older adults in Maine including oral health, medication management, nutrition in long-term care settings, and more.

Greek tragedy doesn’t generally figure in any way into the average American’s daily life, but the lessons that can be learned from what was written 2,500 years ago can still have a huge impact, once they’re listened to or read.

My family has always been immensely proud of my father’s achievements in the military. In addition to rising up in the ranks of the Army, retiring as a Lt. Colonel, he fought in the Korean War and did two tours of duty in Viet Nam. It was only in the last decade of his life that I understood the tremendous toll those wars had taken on him, physically and psychologically. In the Korean War, he lost some of his hearing and developed blood clots in his legs, both of which plagued him for the rest of his life. In Viet Nam, he was exposed to Agent Orange. At the time of his death, he was considered 100 percent disabled because of the effects of Agent Orange. He had type 2 diabetes and was in constant pain because of neuropathy. He also got lung cancer, which ultimately led to his death. Psychologically, I’m sure he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) until the day he died. Sudden noises always startled him — made him nearly jump out of his skin. He told me they often sounded like gunfire. He was barely 20 during the Korean War. More than 60 years later, just the sound of a spoon dropping on a tile floor could transport him back in an instant.