Massachusetts has a well-developed and funded public health infrastructure. Maine had virtually none, until now, thanks to policymakers, scientists, and public health advocates in Maine and an organization that Campbell heads. The partnership also includes the state's Bureau of Health directed by Dora Mills, HSPH alumna and Maine's health officer. Maine is a state with a split personality of sorts. Along the scenic coastline, enclaves of fabulously wealthy people have erected large summer homes overlooking the Atlantic.
Tourists patronize charming shops.
The siren call of the wild lures Odyssean campers and hikers. But there is another Maine better known to many of the 1.3 million residents, described Campbell, one that is sparsely populated, starkly pretty, rural, and poor. These residents look out for their neighbors, he said, but shy away from more formal, state-sponsored interventions. Their primary sources of information about public health are the state's Bureau of Public Health, television, and newspapers. In the past, Maine has suffered from the highest rates of tobacco addiction in the nation by certain groups, including school-age children and young adults.