Sigma Kappa Student’s Mission Coat Drive Becomes a Family Affair

Sigma Kappa Student’s Mission Coat Drive Becomes a Family Affair

CHERRYFIELD, ME — This is a photo of the Berkoski family with some of the coats they delivered. Julia Berkoski is a student at West Georgia State College and a member of the Sigma Kappa Sorority at the school. She organized a coat drive for the Mission.

Julia sent the coats to her dad David Berkoski. He added more coats from a coat drive he did at his workplace.

Then David, his son and extended family drove from the Boston area to Cherryfield to deliver hundreds of coats on Saturday, March 31.

We are very happy to have so many coats to help keep our neighbors warm next winter.

L-R – Donnie Berkoski (Julia’s uncle), Patricia Tuttle (Julia’s aunt), Diana White (Julia’s aunt), David Berkoski (Julia’s dad), Alan Berkoski (Julia’s brother.)

Wendy Harrington
Maine Seacoast Mission
Service Program Director
Cherryfield, ME

Mass General Neurologist Offers Support to Sunbeam’s Telemedicine Work

Mass General Neurologist Offers Support to Sunbeam’s Telemedicine Work

BAR HARBOR, ME — “Monday, April 15, I spent an amazing day at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) thanks to Anand Viswanathan, MD, PhD,” said the Mission’s Island Health Director Sharon Daley, RN.

Director Daley’s was somewhat of a full-circle visit. In May 2018, at the invitation of then-Mission President Scott Planting, Dr. Anand spent three days accompanying Sharon aboard the ‘Sunbeam V’ for her regular telemedicine run.

Dr. Anand, a Neurologist, is a member of the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and is a staff neurologist in both the Stroke Service and Memory Disorders Unit. He also works with patients in remote areas, such as northern Maine, via telemedicine. His work and the Sunbeam’s island work are a natural fit.

After that trip, Anand wrote to Sharon, “…I think you guys are doing really outstanding and important work, although not always glamorous. I think you guys are really the unsung medical heroes of the Maine islands.”

During her recent visit with Dr. Anand at MGH, Sharon attended “a meeting where the newest research was presented,” she said. And she “was also shown [MGH’s] stroke telemedicine program.

Sharon explained, “Dr. Anand and other physicians provide stroke telemed and consultations to Maine hospitals. The technology enables the physicians to [remotely] see all of the scans, labs, and the patient.”

But, Sharon added, what “impressed me more than the technology is the dedication I saw in the people I met.”

Mission Health Director Daley said the MGH “team was very interested” in the ‘Sunbeam’ telemedicine work. “Anand and the team offered to do anything they can to support [that work] any way they can,’ Daley said, which is great news for the Mission and the island communities with which we work.

To learn more about the ‘Sunbeam V’ telemedicine work click here.

Yes, You Can Host a Downeast Table of Plenty Public Supper

Yes, You Can Host a Downeast Table of Plenty Public Supper

CHERRYFIELD, ME — Jillian, beloved Steward on the Sunbeam V, is just as attentive to people taking part in Weald Bethel Community Center events.

Jillian shared this photo, adding “The Women’s Health Resource Library and Coordinator Briana West’s EdGE Journey group co-hosted last Sunday’s Downeast Table of Plenty (DETOP) public supper at the Weald Bethel Community Center.

“They all fed us in style!” said Jillian.

The Table of Plenty takes place in the Weald Bethel Community Center on the Downeast Campus every Sunday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. About 75 to 100 people attend each week. Meals are provided by volunteers who sign up in advance.

If you or your group is interested in providing a meal, please email Wendy Harrington: wharrington@seacoastmission.org

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