Dear Colleagues,
PulseCheck was paused over the past several months as our ongoing, intensive attention to planning and implementing Shore Regional Health’s and University of Maryland’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has made achieving some of our communication priorities more challenging. This missive serves as a bit of a catch-up as there is a lot going on within UM Shore Regional Health and UM Shore Medical Group, and our various partner entities including Shore Radiology, Shore Bayy Hospitalists, Inc., Shore Emergency Physicians, Shore Radiology and The Orthopedic Center.
First let me express my profound appreciation for the amazing dedication and teamwork of our Shore Regional Health COVID-19 Incident Command Structure participants — more than 25 individuals from many departments within our organization who, for eight months and counting, continue to bring their professional expertise, collaborative endeavors, laser-like focus and steadfast commitment to providing optimal patient care in a safe environment. Thanks to their excellent work, the leadership and support provided by the UMMS Incident Command Structure, and the wide engagement of all members of the UM SRH team and our community partners, our health care system has responded very well to the pandemic so far and I am confident we will continue to do so.
Beyond the immediate demands of the pandemic, we have continued to make progress in several important arenas. For example:
· UM Shore Medical Group continues to expand. We now have 19 medical primary and specialty care practices employing more than 100 physicians and advanced care providers who are seeing patients in locations throughout Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties.
· First implemented in our Emergency Departments, Behavioral Health and Palliative Care, telemedicine is now offered as an option by nearly all UM Shore Medical Group practices. Given the nearly 2,000 square mile region served by UM Shore Regional Health and the challenges presented by transportation issues as well as by COVID-19, telemedicine is proving to be an essential and valued model of care by providers and patients alike. For details, please visit https://www.umms.org/shore/health-services/telemedicine?si=shore
· Our long-anticipated UM Shore Medical Campus at Cambridge is now under construction in Cambridge Marketplace. The placement of the final beam to complete the steel structure took place late last month, and the Dorchester community is excited to see the progress. Once completed, the new facility will house a 39,000 square foot state of the art Emergency Center, a short-stay observation unit, a full complement of specialty and physician offices, laboratory and diagnostic services, and a rehabilitation center. The project is on schedule for completion in summer 2021, followed by several weeks of interior equipment build-out. The target date for opening is September 2021,
· We continue to upgrade our technological capabilities, particularly in the area of diagnostics. Most recently we installed a new, state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at our Diagnostic and Imaging Center at Easton. It is identical to the one used in the University of Maryland Medical Center, which speaks to the level of quality in medical imaging implemented throughout the University of Maryland Medical System. For the Clark Comprehensive Breast Center, we purchased a new breast coil that during a mammogram, will help produce more detailed images of the breast. Other technology upgrades within the past year include a new, state-of-art CT scanner and chemistry analyzer at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown.
Elsewhere in this issue of PulseCheck, you will find more detailed information about our newest partnership, which connects our Requard Radiation Oncology Center with UM School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology; information about new UM Shore Medical Group providers whom you may not be aware of; and an update on our MultiSpecialty Clinics, through which UMMS specialty providers travel to the Shore to see patients for consultations “close to home.”
In closing, I encourage you to maintain your vigilant cooperation with every protocol to protect yourself, your staff, your patients and your family against further spread of COVID-19. As the holidays approach, we must all find new and safe ways to celebrate with our family and friends, and to continue supporting the thousands of frontline, essential workers in health care throughout our five county region. Thank you for your ongoing collaboration with UM Shore Regional Health, and as always, please feel free to contact me with any ideas, suggestions or concerns you wish to share.
Sincerely,
William Huffner, MD, FACHE
Vice President, Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer
UM Shore Regional Health