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Short Staffing Pushed Nurses to Launch Strike at Maine Hospital

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Short Staffing Pushed Nurses to Launch Strike at Maine Hospital


Nurses at Maine’s Houlton Regional Hospital (HRH) will go on strike next week to protest the hospital’s failure to address staffing and patient care concerns.  

There are 55 nurses at HRH represented by the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (MSNA/NNOC).

Why It Matters 

According to the union, the hospital’s emergency department is facing short staffing. Nurses said the hallways are full of patients due to a lack of available inpatient beds and the severity of their conditions.  

“I hope with the strike, the public and management see that we are not trying to cause problems,” Tenille Nason, an emergency department nurse at HRH, told Newsweek in an interview. “We truly believe in this cause. We truly believe patient care is suffering because they are not listening to what [nurses] are saying.”

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This comes as nurses across the country have announced strikes amid ongoing contract negotiations. Nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in Michigan have been on strike for two months as negotiations over wage increases and staffing ratios continue.  

What To Know 

In September, nurses at HRH voted to authorize the strike after over a year of negotiations for a new contract. The previous contract expired last November.  

Nason has been a nurse in HRH’s emergency department for the past two decades. She told Newsweek that she’s very involved in the hospital but decided to support this strike because management hasn’t been listening to the concerns of nurses about short staffing.

Nason said that when she comes into work to relieve the night shift at 7 a.m., there are often only two nurses and 12-14 patients waiting to be evaluated. This overwhelms staff trying to prioritize who to care for first and often means there are not enough hospital beds for sick patients.

“Taking care of the patients properly when we’re short staffed is just not feasible,” she said. “We do the best we can, but it makes it very hard.”

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She adds that HRH is a small hospital, but it serves several counties. Nason said patients and staff know each other and have seen patients grow from babies into adults.

“They know that I would not even think about stepping away from doing my job unless I absolutely did not feel that their safety and their care was at risk,” she said.

In a statement on Facebook, Houlton Regional Hospital said it has a contingency plan to ensure minimal to no disruptions in services. The hospital said it will remain open, saying it will continue to put patients and community members first despite the nurses’ choice to walk away. 

“Given the excitement expressed by our communities and patients, for our expanded services and focus on our employees, we are disappointed that the bargaining unit registered nurses have chosen to strike and step away from their patients,” Houlton Regional Hospital CEO Jeff Zewe said in a statement. “We have been meeting regularly with the nurses’ representatives and have made a fair and competitive offer that includes a substantial wage increase over the duration of the contract, along with enhancements to employee benefits.” 

The decision to strike also comes as the hospital’s announced the closure of its maternal services department in May. The hospital said there were several factors that made continued operations of an OB unit unsustainable, including declining birth rates at the hospital, difficulty staffing the OB unit, the high cost of staffing and maintaining the department and cuts in state reimbursement rates.  

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“While the Board has delayed this decision throughout years of financial losses, these losses from the OB unit are a significant drain on the hospital’s overall financial performance, and one that would have a long-term impact on the hospital’s continued viability if not addressed,” the hospital board of trustees said.  

In April, nurses at HRH’s labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum department held a candlelight vigil against the closure of the department. 

Nason added that the absence of OB nurses in the emergency department has exacerbated staffing issues and puts patients at risk if nurses have to prioritize a mother in labor.

What Happens Next 

The nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital will go on a two-day strike at the hospital from Tuesday, November 18, to Thursday, November 20.  

“With the strike, we’re hoping to get better staffing so that our patients can be taken care of properly,” Nason said. “We’re hoping this allows management and everybody to see that we are fighting for our patients because we want to be able to provide the best care we can.”

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What People Are Saying 

Michael MacArthur, a nurse in the HRH emergency department: “For the past several years, hospital management has consistently relied on travel nurses to help staff the hospital. We need to retain our experienced nurses who live in the area. We get plenty of nurses to come, but they leave. We need a strong contract that protects us and our patients and attracts and retains excellent nurses.” 

Houlton Regional Hospital CEO Jeff Zewe said in a statement: “Despite the union’s decision to strike, our focus remains on our patients and our community. I want to reassure everyone that our staffing levels meet or exceed national safety standards, as reflected in our strong quality outcomes.” 

Newsweek reached out to Houlton Regional Hospital for comment.

Have an announcement or news to share? Contact the Newsweek Health Care team at health.care@newsweek.com.



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This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage

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This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage


A waterfront home with open ocean views on the coast of Maine came to market Tuesday asking $4 million. 

Built in 1978, the three-bedroom cottage is at the southern point of Cape Elizabeth, less than 10 miles from downtown Portland. The 1.1-acre property on Sunny Bank Road features 200 feet of south-facing water frontage on the wide open Atlantic. 

It is bordered by a rocky sea wall that’s about 28 feet high, according to listing agent Sam Michaud Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty

“The views are like a Monet painting,” he said via email. “The water sparkles and the waves are endless.”

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MORE: Laid-Back Costa Rica Is Getting a $7 Million Mega-Penthouse

The 3,364-square-foot home was built in classic New England style, with shingle siding, a single sloped roofline and large windows—complemented by white-washed walls, exposed-beam ceilings and wide-plank flooring on the interiors. 

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The main common area features cathedral ceilings with a step-down between the living and dining room, and a partial wall divides the dining room from the kitchen. There is also a wood-paneled family room off the kitchen, a gym and a covered porch. 

The sellers purchased the property in 2010 for $1.562 million, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark. They could not immediately be reached for comment. 

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“I have received quite a few inquiries since hitting the market two days ago,” Michaud said. “Buyers understand that this is a golden opportunity to own over an acre with 200 feet of bold oceanfront in Cape Elizabeth.”

MORE: Iranian Strikes on Dubai Put the City’s Roaring Real Estate Market to the Test

There are currently just seven three-bedroom homes available for sale in Cape Elizabeth and fewer than five waterfront properties, according to Sotheby’s and Zillow data. It is also the most expensive listing in the town, with another waterfront property on a tiny lot just south of Portland coming in a close second, according to Zillow. 

Michaud sold the former Cape Elizabeth home of Bette Davis this past summer for $13.4 million, the priciest sale on the cape in at least a decade—and even those views can’t compare. They’re “just magical,” he said. 



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NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion

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NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion


Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.

In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.

As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.

The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.

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Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.

Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”

After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.

Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.

In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.

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First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.

Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.

Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.

Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.

If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.

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Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition

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Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition


For a lot of people throughout Maine, there’s some built up frustration that they’ve just been keeping inside.

That frustration can come in a lot of different forms. From finances to relationships to the world around you.

So it makes plenty of sense that a rage room opened in Portland, Maine, where people can let some of that frustration out.

It’s called Mayhem and people have been piling in to smash, crush and do dastardly things to inanimate objects that had no idea what was coming.

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But Mayhem has realized not everyone is down with swinging a sledgehammer. So they’ve decided to cook up something new.

Mayhem Creating ‘Scream Room’ at Their Space in Portland, Maine

Perhaps the thought of swinging a baseball bat and destroying a glass vase brings you joy. The thought of how sore your body will be after that moment makes you less excited.

Mayhem Portland has heard you loud and clear and is developing a new way to get the rage out. By just screaming.

Mayhem is working on opening their very first scream room. It’s exactly what you think it is, a safe place to spend some time just screaming all of the frustration out.

There isn’t an official opening date set yet but it’s coming soon along with pricing.

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Mayhem in Portland, Maine, Will Still Offer Rage Rooms and Paint Splatter

While a scream room is on the way, you can still experience a good time at Mayhem with one of their rage rooms or a paint splatter room.

Both can be experienced in either 20-minute or 30-minute sessions.

All the details including some age and attire requirements can be found here.

TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Things to do in Portland, Maine

Looking for fun things to do in Portland, ME? Here is what the reviewers on TripAdvisor say are the 10 best attractions.

This list was updated in March of 2026

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Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka

Top 15 of The Most Powerful People in Maine

Ever wonder who the most powerful players are in Maine? I’ve got a list!

Gallery Credit: Getty Images





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