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There are 34 physicians in the county, about 70 percent less than the state average per person, <br />and fewer available nursing home beds per person, according to a Maine Health Access <br />Foundation report. Half the physicians in the county are older than 5o, as are half the nurses. <br />Stepping into the breach is Pine Tree Hospice, one of the few dozen volunteer hospices in the <br />United States. The hospice's volunteers do not provide medical services, but they go to the <br />homes of patients in end -of -life care, cooldng, cleaning or playing a game of cribbage. About <br />one-quarter of the volunteers are themselves in their los. They like reciting the hospice's motto: <br />"We can't add years to your life, but we can add life to your years." <br />When Jane Stitham began as the executive director of the hospice about a decade ago, she <br />urged as many elderly people as possible to call for free end -of -life care. But over the past two <br />years, Stitham said, the hospice has shifted its focus to recruiting new volunteers, as its waiting <br />list has grown dramatically. Every month, Stitham has to turn away one to two people whom <br />the hospice cannot reach. <br />"There are far too few younger people in the mix of volunteers," said Meg Callaway, who ran a <br />program in the county focused on helping older people. <br />Cliff Singer, who runs an Alzheimer's clinic in an isolated northern region of the state, said his <br />waiting list has more than doubled to 70 people, meaning it takes to months for patients to see <br />him. Singer is trying to hire nine nurses, which would allow him to cut his waiting list <br />dramatically, but he only has three, in part because of fierce competition from other hospitals <br />and clinicians. <br />"It feels awful not to be able to help more people," Singer said. "But we really can't." <br />Jeff Stein <br />Jeff Stein is a policy reporter for The Washington Post. He was a crime reporter for the Syracuse Post - <br />Standard and, in 2014, founded the local news nonprofit the Ithaca Voice in Upstate New York. He was also <br />a reporter for Vox. Follow <br />brhe I'Vol)1[7igtoit j;Joot <br />