ICYMI – Shaheen Discusses Her Work to Address COVID Crisis, Infrastructure & More During Stops in Claremont, Lebanon & Dover

(Manchester, NH) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) made numerous stops across New Hampshire this week to meet with Granite Staters and highlight her work in the Senate to address the most pressing issues facing our communities - from combating the surge in COVID-19 cases to addressing the substance use disorder epidemic and the youth mental health crisis. She also discussed how the bipartisan infrastructure deal she helped negotiate empowers Granite State communities to expand vital infrastructure, from roads and bridges to access to clean drinking water and reliable broadband.

Check out the Senator's week in review below:

Shaheen thanked health care workers at Valley Regional Hospital and encouraged Granite Staters to get vaccinated

WCAX: Shaheen meets with Upper Valley health care workers

• Senator Shaheen listened to [health workers'] concerns…and says priorities at the federal level need to be focused on making sure hospitals have the resources they need now and building the workforce of tomorrow.
• "Longer term, we have got to look at training. We've got to look at how we can incentivize people in the health care field. And again, that's a lot about making those investments," she said.

Eagle Times: 'Fighting an invisible enemy': Shaheen meets with Upper Valley health care workers

• The strain on health care workers has been emotional as well as physical, Shaheen noted.
• "It's not just about what you have given up in your personal lives, but the impact of watching this pandemic and seeing the reaction it has taken on your patients," Shaheen told a lobby filled with Valley Regional Hospital board members, administrators, employees and national guardsmen.

Valley News: Shaheen visit to Valley Regional spotlights hospital staffing, capacity crisis

• Scalera said she welcomed Shaheen's visit. "It's nice to see an official person coming," she said. "We're small."
• During her remarks, Shaheen thanked the dozens of workers gathered in the hospital's lobby and echoed Barrett's calls for community members to get vaccinated and boosted in order to reduce the burden of COVID-19 on the health care system. "Thank you to all of you who have worked so hard for so long," she said.
• In addition to hospital employees, Shaheen also thanked members of the New Hampshire National Guard who have stepped up to assist hospitals around the state during this latest surge.

Shaheen visited Headrest, an organization in Lebanon that provides treatment to individuals with substance use disorders

Eagle Times: 'Fighting an invisible enemy': Shaheen meets with Upper Valley health care workers

• Shaheen also made a second stop at Headrest, an organization in Lebanon that provides treatment to individuals with substance use disorders, to tour the facility and hear from staff about challenges they have faced throughout the pandemic.
• "The pandemic created unprecedented pressures on families across the Granite State, from economic hardship to isolation and trauma - all of which increased the likelihood of substance misuse. During today's visit to Headrest, I listened to challenges their staff are facing amid heightened demand for their services, as well as how we can improve access to treatment and help communities heal moving forward," Shaheen said.

Shaheen met with Dover High School students and staff to hear about how they're addressing mental health challenges

Fosters Daily Democrat: 'It starts with us': Dover Class of 2022 takes lead on mental health after 3 suicides

• "It's really impressive what these students have been able to do and the initiative that they've taken. It speaks to their resilience and their ability to do something positive as the result of some of the tragedy that happened here," Shaheen said after the discussion. "I think it's a great model. It needs support from the community, from the schools and from organizations like NAMI-NH, as the students pointed out, who can help give them the tools they need."

Shaheen spoke with the Keene Sentinel's Caleb Symons to discuss what the bipartisan infrastructure deal she helped negotiate means for Western New Hampshire

Keene Sentinel: Shaheen: Federal infrastructure aid could arrive in region this year

• Shaheen, a Democrat, touted the $110 billion designated in the five-year spending package for transportation-related upgrades across the country, namely to roads and bridges.
• The federal assistance will also help upgrade New Hampshire's water infrastructure, according to Shaheen, who visited health-care facilities in Claremont and Lebanon on Tuesday.
• "I was in Newport this summer, and one of the things that I heard from the town officials there … was just what a challenge it is because they've got pipes in the community that are over 100 years old that need to be replaced," she said.
• The infrastructure package, which President Joe Biden signed into law in November, also includes funding to help bring high-speed Internet to rural communities.
• With more people working from home during the pandemic, as well as students attending class remotely, Shaheen said that investment will be particularly impactful for small towns in the region. The federal aid will go toward both installing broadband infrastructure and lowering costs for Internet users.

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