FORT KENT – Northern Maine Medical Center has hired registered nurse Lorraine Deschaine to provide disease management services for uninsured and underinsured residents with chronic health care problems in the St. John Valley.

Deschaine will coordinate services such as patient education, compliance, referral and follow-up for area residents to improve their access to comprehensive and continuous health care.

Deschaine received national recognition in a 2001 article that featured her organizational and telemanagement skills in working with outpatients as they managed such diseases as congestive heart failure and diabetes.

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PRESQUE ISLE – Aroostook Home Care Agency Inc. officials recently recognized eight employees for their combined total of 85 years of service at the organization’s annual employee recognition event.

Individuals receiving years of service awards include, in the Caribou office, Sylvia Soucy, 25 years, and Lynn Dube, five years; in the Fort Kent office, Marie Deschaine, 15 years, Peggy Charette, 10 years, and Cecile Voisine, five years; and in the Houlton office, Marion Sloat and Janet Rockwell, 10 years, and Carl Tingley, five years.

The agency is an affiliate of The Aroostook Medical Center and consists of Visiting Nurses of Aroostook, Hospice of Aroostook, and Aroostook Visiting Nurses. The agency has locations in Fort Kent, Caribou and Houlton.