Patty Wight

News Producer
  • Maine Public

Patty is a graduate of the University of Vermont and a multiple award-winning reporter for Maine Public Radio. Her specialty is health coverage: from policy stories to patient stories, physical health to mental health and anything in between. Patty joined Maine Public Radio in 2012 after producing stories as a freelancer for NPR programs such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She got hooked on radio at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine, and hasn’t looked back ever since.

Ways to Connect

Jared Golden Appears To Be Winner In Congressional Primary

By • Jun 13, 2018
Patty Wight / Maine Public

Jared Golden ended his night on Tuesday with the lead in the three-way race for Democratic nomination in Maine's Second District Congressional race. He eventually sent supporters in Lewiston home around midnight, unable to declare any kind of victory.

Golden ended the evening by telling supporters at the Franco Center in Lewiston that he hoped to carry his lead and earn the right to face off against incumbent Republican Bruce Poliquin in the fall.

Attorney For Woman Accused In Daughter's Beating Death Argues To Remove State Prosecutors From Case

By • Jun 12, 2018
Patty Wight / Maine Public/file

The attorney for the woman accused in the beating death of her 10-year-old daughter, Marissa Kennedy, argued before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Tuesday to have state prosecutors removed from the case.  At issue are confidential records -  including a psychological exam -  that the defense attorney says the state improperly subpoenaed from Sharon Carrillo's former school.  

MaineHealth Earns Strong Credit Rating Heading Into Maine Medical Center Expansion

By • Jun 9, 2018

The nonprofit healthcare organization MaineHealth has earned and maintained a strong credit rating as it prepares to borrow $300 million in bonds for an expansion project at Maine Medical Center.

The credit agency Moody’s assigned an A1 rating, and the agency Standard and Poor's assigned an A+ rating.

CDC Report Reveals Details About Maine's Climbing Suicide Rate

By • Jun 8, 2018

Suicide rates are increasing in nearly every state, and the rate in Maine has increased by nearly 30 percent since 1999, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control report released this week.

Biddeford Job Fair Offers A Second Chance To Those In Recovery

By • Jun 8, 2018
Patty Wight / Maine Public

It wasn't your typical job fair.

More than 60 people came to the event in Biddeford Thursday in the hopes of finding an employer willing to give them a chance. These job seekers are all in recovery for substance use disorders.

unifymaine Coalition Forms To Oppose Bias and Hate Crimes

By • Jun 7, 2018
Caroline Losneck / Maine Public

A coalition of Maine organizations has come together to form 'unifymaine.'

Founding member Amy Sneirson of the Maine Human Rights Commission says that the purpose of unifymaine is to spread awareness and speak out against bias-related incidents and hate crimes.

“The hope is to decrease the walls that separate us,” says Sneirson. “Decrease what seems to be hate or violence that's based on fear, rather than knowledge.”

ACA Premiums Going Up, But By Less Than Expected

By • Jun 6, 2018

Insurance companies in Maine that will offer individual health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace next year are proposing premium increases from about 5 to 9 percent. 

Maine-based independent health policy consultant Mitchell Stein says that's better than projections from the Congressional Budget Office, "which estimated that some of the actions of the administration would add at least 10 percent to the rates for this year."

Data: Maine Overdose Deaths Dipped Slightly, But More Were Caused By Fentanyl

By • Jun 3, 2018

Eighty-six people in Maine died from drug overdose deaths in the first quarter of the year, according to a new report released by the state attorney general’s office.

The number of drug overdose deaths is a slight drop from the 89 deaths during the same timeframe last year. But increasingly, it’s illicit drugs that are the cause, compared to pharmaceutical opioids.

LePage Recommends Overhauling Child Protections At Public Hearing

By • May 31, 2018
Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press

Maine Gov. Paul LePage joined children’s advocates Thursday in calling for stronger state laws and policies to protect children in cases of abuse and neglect.

Behind The Curtain At Maine’s Medical Examiner’s Office — Named One Of The Nation’s Best

By • May 30, 2018
Patty Wight / Maine Public

Maine’s medical examiner’s office has been named one of the best in the country. The pronouncement from the National Association of Medical Examiners came earlier this month in the form of full accreditation — a major accomplishment for an agency that was struggling with a backlog of cases just a few years ago.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is in a small brick building in Augusta, tucked back from the street. This is where the staff conducts about 300 autopsies a year.

Watchdog Agency Finds That State Failed To Follow Policies In Fatal Child Abuse Cases

By • May 24, 2018
Patty Wight / Maine Public

The state agency charged with government oversight, OPEGA, released a report Thursday about the state's handling of two child abuse cases that resulted in death.

Senator Collins Proposes Two Bills To Address Opioid Misuse Among Older Adults

By • May 24, 2018
J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photo

Senator Susan Collins used a committee hearing Wednesday to highlight one aspect of the opioid epidemic that she thinks deserves more attention: addiction in older adults.

Robert Indiana, Vinalhaven Artist Known For Bold Works, Dies At 89

By • May 22, 2018
Artist Robert Indiana poses Thursday, Aug. 29, 2008 at his studio in Vinalhaven, Maine. Indiana, who in the 1960s created the pop icon LOVE, now has created a similar image with HOPE, with proceeds going to Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
Joel Page / AP Photo

Robert Indiana, the artist who created the iconic image of the word “LOVE,” died on Saturday at his home on Vinalhaven at the age of 89.

New Tick-Borne Illness In Maine Causes Allergic Reaction To Red Meat

By • May 21, 2018
Allen G. Breed / Associated Press

Dog and deer ticks are well-established in Maine and cause an a number of illnesses. Now, another species — the lone star tick, typically found in the southern U.S. — appears to be making inroads here, and it brings with it a surprising reaction.

Maine Abortion Providers Condemn Trump's Proposed Gag Rule

By • May 19, 2018
plannedparenthood.org

Health care providers in Maine that receive Title X funding are condemning the Trump Administration's proposed gag rule that would block them from referring patients to abortion services. 

Pages