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Local Health Officers
For New Local Health Officers
If you've been newly appointed as Local Health Officer for your town, here are steps to get you started:
On this page:
Meet Your Public Health District Liaison
Your Maine CDC Public Health District Liaison helps connect your region with public health resources, provides Maine CDC coordination at the district level, and can provide assistance when needed. Working closely with local health officers and other local organizations in their District, they are also able to bring regional knowledge & regional needs back to the state level.
Your Public Health District Liaison (or "District Liaison") is your regional link to the Maine CDC. If you and your town colleagues run into an LHO issue for which you need additional guidance, your District Liaison will be your first go-to for technical assistance.
Feel free to reach out and introduce yourself; when they see your name registered for your municipality (see below), they will also reach out to you with a welcome and hello.
- Find your District Liaison here.
Meet your municipal colleagues
Each Maine town is unique! In some municipalities, the LHO receives public health complaints only rarely; in others the LHO receives them more regularly. In either case, the LHO will often work closely with municipal colleagues as part of a response team -- including the code enforcement officer, fire chief, plumbing inspector, town manager, town attorney, or others. You might also coordinate with local service organizations to assist in some situations (such as CAP agencies or Agencies on Aging). Your District Liaison and the district Maine CDC Public Health Unit can help connect you to regional or state resources if needed. You might also provide local organizational knowledge to your District Liaison.
- You'll find your municipal colleagues and regional resources are important colleagues and you'll collaborate often.
- Reach out to meet them if you haven't already.
Update Local Health Officer Registration System (LHORIS) [required]
The Local Health Officer Registration System is an online portal where municipalities can quickly update information when an LHO is newly appointed or re-appointed for a new term. Registering in LHORIS enables an LHO to receive public health updates from the Maine DHHS and Maine CDC, including during a public health emergency, as well as information about training, optional free continuing education for LHOs and other events.LHORIS registration satisfies the statutory requirement for municipal notification of LHO appointment.
Your town office usually holds the LHORIS account and can do the updating for you. Contact your town office to make sure LHORIS registration is complete.
- The municipal portal to LHORIS for registration updates is here.
- For questions about municipal LHORIS accounts, contact District Liaison Drexell R. White.
Complete Local Health Officer Online Core Training [required]
LHO training is required by statute once at initial appointment then again every three years upon re-appointment. LHOs have 6 months from appointment (or re-appointment) to complete the required self-directed training. The LHO training will provide answers for common questions, such as the statutory basis for your role, authorities and duties, and strategies to approach common complaints. It also contains resources you can access for ongoing reference. You will receive a Certificate of Completion upon completion of the required training for your records. Maine CDC's LHO training is offered free of charge to all LHOs.
- You can find the LHO Training here.
Sign up for Health Alert Notifications (HANs) (optional)
Local Health Officers are eligible to register for CDC Health Alert Notifications ("HANs") and we encourage all LHOs to sign up. These advisories will provide you with a "heads-up" from the Maine CDC or State Epidemiologist when a public health issue, such as an infectious disease, is identified in your region or in the state. Though they are written for clinicians, combining them with the Press Releases (below) provides you with a helpful direct public health news source. The HANs are also the primary communication method used to mobilize the public health workforce during a public health emergency.
Sign up for Maine DHHS / Maine CDC Press Releases (optional)
Maine DHHS and Maine CDC Press Releases will help keep you "in the know" with news and updates from the Maine CDC or Governor's Office regarding any public health updates, and provide you with language to use should questions come your way. They are often posted before you will see the same information in your local newspaper. You can direct members of the public to the press release should additional questions arise.
Continuing Education for LHOs (optional)
Regularly throughout the year, the Maine CDC will present and sponsor optional, live webinars for LHOs on topics relevant to your work. (Your municipal colleagues are often invited as well.) These sessions provide public health updates, walk through strategies for approaching situations common to LHOs, introduce you to resource organizations in the state and connect you with specialists within the Maine CDC. Live sessions afford opportunities for Q & A and also provide a chance to meet some of your fellow state LHOs. Sessions are often recorded for future reference. In future, some in-person options might become available in your District.
Maine CDC's continuing education webinars for LHOs are offered free of charge.
- Invitations for these trainings are sent via email from the Maine CDC Division of Public Health Systems. Make sure your contact information is correct in the LHORIS system to receive this information directly (see above).
LHO Resources
An LHO Resources page has been created to supplement your training and provide ongoing access to commonly used resources. Resources will be updated seasonally and as the public health environment indicates, so we recommend checking back to the site on a regular basis. Resources for Municipalities will also be available for you to post on your town's LHO webpage should you opt to do so. If there is something you would like to see on the LHO Resources page, please contact your District Liaison or the LHO Coordinator.
- Find our LHO Resources page here
