PORTLAND, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) met with health professionals, students and administrators at the Maine College of Health Professions to discuss the importance of the health care industry in Maine, and challenges presented by health care workforce shortages in the state.

“Each and every day, the people of Maine rely on the treatment provided by health care workers,” said Senator King. “That’s why the education provided by the Maine College of Health Professions is so important to our state. MCHP trains the health care providers who will go out into our communities and help ensure our state’s citizens receive the quality care they need. I’m grateful to the administrators and students for hosting me today, and their continued efforts to improve health care in Maine.”

Maine College of Health Professions offers a number of two year Associate Degree Programs, and recently became the only college in Maine to offer both the associate’s degree in nursing and the RN to BSN program. Last year, MCHP was named by Forbes as 15^th on the Top 30 of Two-Year Trade Schools in the nation.

Prior to meeting with MCHP, Sen. King visited St Mary’s Nutrition Center in Lewiston to discuss the Community Food Projects grant funding the center received from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help in its work to build greater food security in the Lewiston-Auburn area. The grant, totaling $400,000, was awarded through the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, founded in 1999 to help promote community health, works to provide greater access to healthy food for people in the Lewiston-Auburn community. The center includes St. Mary’s food pantry, which serves over 1,000 people per week, over a dozen community gardens, and a children’s garden and cooking programs.