What are health care associated infections?

Health care associated infections, or HAIs, are infections caused by a wide variety of common and unusual bacteria, fungi, and viruses during the course of receiving medical care. Medical advances have brought lifesaving care to patients in need, yet many of those advances come with a risk of HAI. These infections related to medical care can be devastating and even deadly. As our ability to prevent HAIs grows, these infections are increasingly becoming unacceptable.

Infectious disease surveillance, reporting, and control

Local health departments, clinical providers, and laboratories will find information here regarding the reporting and control of infectious disease in Maine. Infectious diseases cause illness, suffering and even death, and place an enormous financial burden on society.

Disease reporting is a vital part of public health that helps identify outbreaks, track disease trends, and allocate resources. It allows the Maine CDC to determine the epidemiology of diseases, see trends, and establish preventive measures.

Maine has communicable disease reporting requirements that support public health's responsibilities to control the incidence and spread of communicable diseases in our state.

Maine Health Alert Network (MaineHAN)

The Maine Health Alert Network (HAN) is the Maine CDC's primary method of sharing cleared information about urgent public health incidents with public information officers; state, territorial, tribal, and local public health practitioners; clinicians; and public health laboratories.

Health professionals play a crucial role in maintaining Maine's public health.

Getting married in Maine

Filing your intentions to marry

Maine residents must file their intention to marry in the municipality of their residence by filing a VS2-A form. If they live in different municipalities, they file in only one of those towns. Intentions can also be filed with Maine Vital Records. The VS2-A form must be completed, signed and notarized.

Out of state residents intending to marry in Maine can file intentions in any Maine municipality.

Death Forms & Information

Final Arrangements by an Authorized Person (not through an in-state funeral Home)

An authorized person is a spouse, child and domestic partner that make their own arrangements without employing a funeral director. Out of state or out of country funeral establishments are also considered authorized persons.

Parentage is the legal relationship between a child and a parent. When parentage is established, the person seeking to establish parentage becomes the child's legal parent with the rights and responsibilities of a parent.

Access to Original Birth Certificates before Adoption

In Maine, adopted people who are 18 or older and were born in Maine can access their original birth certificate by filing an application for an original birth certificate before adoption with Data, Research, and Vital Statistics (DRVS). This application must be notarized and requires a $10.00 non-refundable fee. Additionally, descendants of a deceased adopted person also have the right to request and obtain the adopted person's original birth certificate.