Brian Monk, left, and Rayno Boivin measure and place one other row of seats in April 2022 on the Colonial Theater in downtown Augusta. The venue at 139 Water St. was amongst greater than a dozen central Maine initiatives to obtain funding from the $1.7 trillion federal funds accredited by Congress final week. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file
A robotic surgical system for MaineGeneral, efforts to revive the Colonial Theater in downtown Augusta, the creation of a brand new Boys & Women Membership of Augusta Teen Heart, the development of a fireplace station in North Anson and plans to construct a bridge over the Sandy River in Farmington to attach a regional path system are amongst greater than a dozen main initiatives in central Maine to safe funding within the federal funds.
The $1.7 trillion spending package deal accredited by Congress final week and anticipated to go to President Joe Biden for his signature this week contains greater than $15 billion in congressionally directed spending, previously often known as earmarks, to Maine.
Practically $7.2 million in federal funding will go to initiatives in Augusta, together with $1.2 million to transform a downtown Augusta constructing into the brand new house for the Boys & Women Membership of Augusta Teen Heart,$207,000 to construct a full-scale duplicate of the Cushnoc Buying and selling Put up and broaden academic programming at Previous Fort Western together with the contributions of Native Individuals and $1.5 million to assist with the continuing restoration of the historic Colonial Theater in downtown Augusta.
“We’re $1.5 million nearer and that cash offers higher credibility to the mission and helps us leverage different funds,” Kathi Wall, government director of the theater, stated Tuesday. “So it should actually make a distinction.”
The theater has already undergone between $1.5 million and $2 million in restoration work together with new roofing, ground and facade enhancements as a part of a restoration anticipated to value someplace round $8.5 million. Wall stated the theater’s board will decide what a part of the restoration course of ought to be subsequent, and thus what the brand new funds might be used for.
A robotic system is about up for surgical procedure at MaineGeneral Medical Heart in Augusta, and $2 million in federal funding will allow the hospital to amass extra of the identical tools. On the mattress is a software surgeons use for public schooling the place an individual can sit on the console and manipulate the arms. Picture courtesy of MaineGeneral Medical Heart
The funds contains $2 million for MaineGeneral to amass an upgraded da Vinci Xi robotic surgical system, which Chuck Hays, president and CEO of MaineGeneral Well being, stated could be utilized by surgeons to carry out a variety of minimally invasive surgical procedures together with common surgical procedure, urology, thoracic, obstetrics and bariatrics.
“Having this know-how out there regionally means sufferers have entry to surgical strategies confirmed to have higher well being outcomes, shorter restoration instances, fewer issues and fewer scaring,” Pleasure McKenna, a hospital spokesperson, stated, including that MaineGeneral, in accordance with the system’s producer, is at the moment the busiest web site utilizing the system within the northeast. “Given the present monetary state of hospitals, with out this funding, MaineGeneral wouldn’t be capable of buy a brand new da Vinci Xi robotic for years.”
Hays and McKenna additionally stated the robotic additionally improves MaineGeneral’s capability to recruit and retain well being care professionals in rural Maine, the place there are workforce shortages, as surgeons are more and more educated utilizing robotics.
MaineGeneral at the moment has two of the robots, one at Thayer Heart for Well being in Waterville and one at Alfond Heart for Well being in Augusta, and it has not but been decided the place the upgraded new one will go.
“Upgrading MaineGeneral’s surgical tools with this cutting-edge robotic-assistance surgical system will present central Maine residents with entry to probably the most superior care, bettering well being outcomes,” Republican Sen. Susan Collins stated in a information launch.
Different regional initiatives designated to be funded within the federal funds embody:
• $2.04 million to the Excessive Peaks Alliance to fund the development of a multiple-use bridge over the Sandy River from downtown Farmington connecting the regional Whistle-Cease Path;
• $1.9 million to Winthrop Utilities District to improve its sewer pumping stations and make crucial structural repairs to pump chambers;
• $1.5 million to switch the North Anson Hearth Station;
• $646,000 to Kennebec Valley YMCA to broaden its baby care companies by constructing a 2,000-square-foot addition to its present facility in Augusta;
• $603,000 to Kennebec Household Dentistry to extend the nonprofit’s capability by increasing into 3,400 sq. toes subsequent to its present Augusta facility;
• $600,000 to the Higher Kennebec Valley Ambulance Service to buy medical tools and ambulances;
• $570,000 to the city of Alna to switch the Alna Egypt Highway Bridge;
• $515,000 to Kennebec Valley Neighborhood School to stabilize and restore two constructing roofs at its Harold Alfond Campus;
• $500,000 to Anson-Madison Sanitary District to design and set up a PFAS therapy facility and;
• $500,000 to the College of Maine at Augusta to develop and ship in-person and on-line skilled coaching for all Maine municipalities in cybersecurity.
“These historic investments are going on to the native organizations who want them probably the most and might successfully present financial alternatives, private enrichment, and different important public companies,” Impartial Sen. Angus King stated in a information launch. “Maine individuals have all the time appeared out for one another, and the 140 nonprofits and native governments receiving these funds are not any completely different — they’ve confirmed monitor information of success in our communities and can use this assist to broaden and enhance their efforts.”
« Earlier
Associated Tales
Invalid username/password.
Please verify your e mail to substantiate and full your registration.
Use the shape under to reset your password. Once you’ve submitted your account e mail, we are going to ship an e mail with a reset code.