Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine faced a public health crisis, so when Gov. Janet Mills was first elected, she selected Jeanne Lambrew as her first Cabinet choice as commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services. The first act for the new administration was to expand Maine’s expansion of MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program providing affordable, accessible health care for more than 100,000 Mainers.
The second effort was to restore systems, services and confidence in a department that was gutted by the previous administration. Restoration, and rebuilding, led by Lambrew and her team, including her then-deputy and now acting Commissioner Sara Gagne-Holmes was a priority. As board chair of the Consumers for Affordable Healthcare, I have seen firsthand that these efforts were predicated on a customer comes first philosophy. Restoring the public health and nurse system is another shining example.
Then the pandemic hit, and the commissioner with Dr. Nirav Shah made sure that Maine was well informed, taking careful health care steps during an uncertain national health crisis. Through her steady efforts with the governor, Maine had one of the best models to protect people’s health and economic standing.
Lambrew’s stint as DHHS commissioner was impactful, mission and purpose driven, and timely. DHHS is a monstrous government agency in its complexity and challenges, and Lambrew faced everything seeking improvements. She returned home to Maine to meet those challenges and to be back home closer to her parents after playing a prominent role in developing and implementing the Affordable Care Act working for President Barack Obama. To that end, she has proven that government and public service works because of her expertise and passion turning policies into practices to help people. She is returning to a Washington, D.C.-based organization and teaching but will leave Maine a better place — and always in her heart and mind.
Lee Umphrey
President and CEO
Eastern Maine Development Corp.
Bangor
