Tag Archives: a recent survey
Down East seafood harvesters struggle to access health care, according to survey
Unless she needs to be stitched up, Deer Isle lobsterman Julie Eaton probably isn’t going to the hospital. She’d have to dock her boat in Stonington and drive up to the hospital in Blue Hill, nearly a 45-minute ride away. Not only will she lose out on a fishing day, but when she does get there, it’ll probably cost an arm and a leg, because Eaton, like many lobstermen, doesn’t have insurance. “Health care is a challenge,” she said. “I don’t have insurance. I don’t go unless I’m bleeding.” It’s a common refrain in the industry and one backed up by the results of a recent survey of more than 100 Down East lobstermen and shellfish harvesters. >click to read< 21:43
