I’ll tell you why I support paid family and medical leave for working Mainers. It’s for my patients. For people I have met in my 30 years as a family doctor in this state
For R: Crying softly, she told me she had to leave her baby and go back to work two weeks after delivery. Without that paycheck she could not pay the rent and her whole family would be homeless.
For B: She had to take vacation days to take her mother to her chemo and radiation because her mother had breast cancer and got too sick after either one to drive herself. It meant that B. had no vacation days left and did not get paid for those days when she could not work. She could not stay home with her own kids when they had school vacation
For K: K. has an autoimmune condition that has not responded to any oral medications, so she needs to go for IV infusion (medicine through an IV in her arm) every 1-2 months. It takes two hours and the office is an hour from home. Both she and her husband (who drives her) have to take the day off so she can get the treatment. In a year that amounts to the loss of 18 days of pay. Not to mention how much the infusion costs (but that’s an issue for a different letter).
Everyone has unexpected events in their lives. Working people need to know that when a medical or family crisis happens they can take some time to solve the problem. They need paid leave so that these events do not mean financial instability. Eleven states have paid family leave, why not Maine?
Connie Adler, MD
Chesterville, ME
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