Orono town nurse resigns after 14 years

ORONO – Orono’s town nurse, Leslie Peterson, resigned her position at the end of the day last Friday, according to Town Manager Cathy Conlow. Peterson, who lives in Old Town, had served in the municipal post for 14 years.

Conlow said Monday she could not elaborate on the reason for Peterson’s resignation, but said the town has no plans to fill the position. Peterson could not be reached for comment.

Conlow said the town will work with public and private health care providers in the area to ensure residents have access to needed home nursing services. The growing complexity of medical care makes it difficult for small towns to support nurses out of the municipal budget, she said, adding that Orono would have needed to hire a dedicated office assistant and to upgrade the nurse’s record-keeping system in order to continue providing the service.

Residents were not charged for Peterson’s visits, and she did not bill Medicare or other insurance plans for her services, which included health assessments, medication assistance, dressing changes, blood draws, and more. Peterson’s annual salary was about $55,000.

Conlow said the money saved by not filling the position will be put toward developing a public health program in Orono and that home nursing visits will be arranged with the city of Bangor’s Department of Health and Community Services, the state Department of Health and Human Services and private home care agencies.

Conlow said she did not know how many Orono residents Peterson was visiting, but she estimated that there were 20 “regulars” on the list. Most were elderly, she said.

Town-employed nurses were once common in Maine, but Mike Starn of the Maine Municipal Association on Monday said there are “no more than a handful” now on municipal payrolls.