With decline in client numbers, DHHS expands hours in Calais

Facing continued client accessibility challenges after closing its full-time Calais facility in 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has expanded the hours of its itinerant location on Lowell Street. According to DHHS, it is the first of other possible steps to expand accessibility to its specialists -- a move that is widely agreed to be necessary by providers, clients and caregivers in the community.
The 2016 closure of the full‑time facility in Calais had a dramatic effect on those needing assistance in eastern Washington County. While some processes could be handled online, many require an in‑person visit with a specialist. It was a difficult requirement to meet, with the new Calais location open only for one day a week.
During that time frame of limited access, prospective clients have fallen through the cracks, according to Julie Redding, clinical director of the Community Caring Collaborative. "There was a reduction in individuals covered by SNAP benefits from September 2016 to September 2018 by 655 individuals in Washington County," Redding advised the Calais City Council on February 14. The reduction could not be accounted for by other changes, such as increased employment, Redding explained.
The problem is largely due to a lack of specialist availability, producing long wait times. Those who come in the morning but aren't seen before lunch have to leave the office and return after it reopens -- a situation that is especially difficult for those with disabilities.
Along with producing difficulties for clients and their caregivers, the lack of specialist availability is costing providers, Redding said. As an example, she described how Passamaquoddy Health Center in Indian Township is paying extra for drivers to sit and wait.
The situation has prompted enough of an outcry on multiple levels that the DHHS has moved to respond by initially opening an additional day in Calais. "We are reviewing additional options to ensure that we best serve the needs of clients in the Calais region," says Jackie Farwell, spokeswoman for DHHS.
Being open an additional day won't solve the problems being faced by the office and its clients, asserts Peggy Bayliss, leader of the 2016 petition drive to save the full‑time facility. "That office should never have been closed," Bayliss says.
Recently, Bayliss has been assisting her mentally and physically disabled brother with acquiring assistance, a process that has been extremely challenging. While she praises the help she and her brother finally received from the specialist at the itinerant office, she says it's more than just a problem of being open.
"They don't seem to have all the files they need on hand, like physical records clients have submitted," Bayliss says, describing additional extended waits as the records were recovered from the Machias facility.
Aside from receiving help in person or online, clients can request help via phone calls; however, DHHS can be challenging to reach. The organization's website lists two general information numbers for its Calais facility, neither of which work. Calls to the other lines route through an automated system, a slow and often unwieldy process. Those who are hoping to connect with a person and complete their business using prepaid phones with a limited number of minutes may find themselves out of luck entirely.
Both of Calais' state legislators, Senator Marianne Moore and Rep. Anne Perry, serve on the Health and Human Services Committee, and both have been highly vocal about the subject -- including how more assistance is needed.
"I had a chance, a while back, to talk to Commissioner [Jeanne] Lambrew regarding the need for an office site in Calais, and she appeared to listen and understand," Rep. Perry says. "I am pleased that the days have been increased for Calais and do hope for more."
"I am quite pleased to see DHHS has listened to our needs and has expanded at least an additional day," Senator Moore says. "My hope is they will continue to consider restoring the Calais office back to its full‑service model."
The Calais DHHS office is currently located at 5 Lowell Street. As a result of the expanded hours, the specific office has changed and is now at the end of the hallway. It is open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., other than during lunch.