University of Maryland Shore Regional Health joins The Living Legacy Foundation (The LLF) in dedicating a rose for the 2020 Donate Life Rose Parade Float to honor the patients and their families who have given the gifts of life and hope as organ, eye, or tissue donors. The rose dedicated by UM SRH President and CEO Ken Kozel will accompany several others dedicated by The LLF as part of the Donate Life Float in the 2020 Tournament of Roses® Rose Bowl Parade. The parade will take place in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year’s Day with the theme “Light in the Darkness.”

From left, Chris Wright, in-house Eastern Shore coordinator for the Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland, stands with Ken Kozel, president and CEO, University of Maryland Shore Regional Health as he signs the rose that will be dedicated by UM SRH and become part of the Donate Life Float in the 2020 Tournament of Roses® Rose Bowl Parade that will take place in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year’s Day.

Rose dedications enable hospitals to express their support and gratitude for those who have given the gift of life and also thank their staff, who make that gift possible by facilitating organ donations. The float will highlight the power of unity, light and love through organ, eye and tissue donation, and the many lives touched by donation. As the world’s most visible campaign to inspire organ, eye and tissue donation, The Donate Life Rose Parade® float inspires viewers to help the more than one million people nationally who are in need of organ, eye or tissue transplants each year.

UM SRH is passionate about saving lives. Each April, National Donate Life Month, the health care system joins The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland in honoring patients and families who made the gift of life possible for others through eye, organ and tissue donation.

During the past 30 years, UM Shore Regional Health has facilitated 40 organ donations and 133 tissue donations.

Additionally, hospital staff in Cambridge, Chestertown and Easton all honor organ donors and their families through “Walks of Respect” and a unique local program, Quilts of Honor, which provides special quilts, created and donated by local quilting guild, Peggy’s Quilters, as gifts to families of organ donors.

UM Shore Medical Center at Easton 2 East nurses Colby Hall, Mary Collins and Dawn Ruby, as well as Laura Moore were among participants in the Family Fun Walk hosted by Living Legacy on September 14. According to Ruby, “2 East Gives Back” also recently held a bake sale in the hospital cafeteria that raised $669 for the Living Legacy Foundation.

A moving tribute that a patient’s family may elect, the Walk of Respect is provides honor and gratitude to a donor as he or she is making the final journey in the hospital. Hospital staff members line up to show their silent respect for a difficult decision as the patient passes by on the way to the operating room.

“It is a very moving reminder of our mission, purpose and calling,” Kozel says. “I am so moved by the power of what I witness during these Walks of Respect — the compassion, care, respect and the shared bonds between the patient, family and staff.”

The Quilts of Honor program began as an idea in fall 2018 and was implemented early this past spring by Shore Regional Health senior leadership and Peggy’s Quilters, a quilting group from Centreville that provided SRH with 12 quilts to give to organ donor patients and families in 2019.

Owned by Peggy Patterson, Peggy’s Quilters, a group of about 20 women who get together once a month to quilt at Peggy’s Quilting Center in Centreville. The group makes quilts and pillowcases for a number of charitable organizations, including those that provide health care to veterans in military hospitals. They also provide blankets for children in local hospitals through Project Linus, pillowcases filled with needed items for families who have lost their homes to fire or have been victims of crime, blankets for hospice patients and quilts for patients undergoing treatment at the Cancer Center in Easton.

From left are University of Maryland Intensive Care Unit staff nurse Patty Tindall, ICU Nurse Manager Alicia Fuchs, ICU staff nurse Dionne Walker, ICU Clinical Nurse Coordinator Jessica Caraker and ICU staff nurse Mary Anne Luschinski holding a couple of the handmade quilts donated to UM SRH donor patients and families.

“Giving and charity is a big part of what quilters do,” says Shirley Seward, a member of Peggy’s Quilters member and family nurse practitioner with UM Shore Medical Group-Primary Care at Easton.. “Taking care of others and ‘wrapping around’ someone in need is important to us. When we found out about the Walk of Respect, we jumped at the chance to be a part of this unique tribute through the Quilts of Honor program.”

“We have been touched to see the beautiful work Peggy’s Quilters have done for those patients and families who have chosen to be organ donors at the end of life, helping others to have a second chance at life,” Kozel says. “Peggy’s Quilters has enabled us to provide a very tangible gift in memory and honor of a patient, which helps us share our gratitude and support with the family.”

The Living Legacy Foundation collaborates and facilitates donation and transplantation in area hospitals, provides support to donor families and educates Marylanders about the life-saving power of donation.

“Local donors save local lives,” Kozel says. “In Maryland, there are 3,353 people on the transplant waiting list. A single organ donor can save up to eight people and a single tissue donor may enhance the lives of up to 75 people. Of the 170,000 people we serve in our five-county community, an amazing 92,688 are registered as eye, organ and tissue donors. That’s just incredible. ”

“At Shore Regional Health, we are committed to patients from birth to death, and also to those who make the renewal of life possible for others,” Kozel says. “We support and stand behind the families and loved ones of these patients who have selflessly donated life so that others may have a second chance at it.”

Now in its 17th year, the Donate Life Rose Parade Float is the centerpiece of a national effort to reach a broad audience with the simple, life-giving message that organ, eye and tissue donation saves and heals lives. Nationally, 113, 222 people are in need of a life-saving transplant. Register today to become an organ, eye or tissue donor by visiting DonateLife.net.

iFrog Digital Marketing recently set up collection containers in its Easton office for its staff and visitors to donate to the Clark Comprehensive Breast Center at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. iFrog Digital Marketing team members donated $500 to benefit equipment and services at the Breast Center. “Supporting Breast Cancer Awareness during October was something that our team felt passionate about and we wanted to make sure we gave back to our local community,” says iFrog digital analyst Jamie Marvel. “We couldn’t be happier to give back to the Clark Comprehensive Breast Center and are thankful for all that they do when it comes to treatment, education and patient support.”

Pictured, from left, are F. Graham Lee, vice president, Philanthropy, UM Shore Regional Health; Amy Lowe, development assistant, UM Memorial Hospital Foundation of Shore Regional Health;  Kyle McCracken, chief product officer for iFrog Digital Marketing; Dr. Roberta Lilly, medical director, Clark Comprehensive Breast Center at UM Shore Regional Health; Brittany Krautheim, nurse practitioner, Clarke Comprehensive Breast Center at UM SRH; Jeanie Scott, manager, Oncology Services, UM SRH; and iFrog Digital Marketing team members Dorian Mitchell, Jamie Marvel, Michael O’Connor, Travis Belt, Chelsea Lindner, Jaclyn Langwost, Sarah Natovitz, Morgan Dailidenas, Sarah Bulgaris, Erin Williamson, Teri Bildstein, Robb Falkenheimer, Audrey Wozny and John Perkinson.

The Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital at Easton will celebrate the 36th Annual Tree of Lights Campaign with a tree-lighting ceremony set for 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 19, in the front circle of University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton.

According to Tree of Lights Chair Nancy Espenhorst, the event is the first holiday tree lighting ceremony of the year, and is open to the public as well as hospital staff, Auxiliary volunteers and donors.

“The goal of this year’s Tree of Lights Campaign is to raise $6,000 to fund the purchase of a new AccuVein device for use at the Diagnostic and Imaging Center (DIC)in Easton,” says Espenhorst.

AccuVein is a device that works to highlight a person’s veins for the drawing of blood or the administration of contrast material in order to perform an imaging study. At present, when a patient presents at the DIC for a contrast injection for CT scan, MRI or other imaging test, if the veins are difficult to visualize (as is often the case, particularly for older patients), the patient has to go over to UM Shore Medical Center at Easton to have the AccuVein visualization conducted and then return to the DIC for the imaging test.

“Having the AccuVein device available in in the Diagnostic & Imaging Center will eliminate the inconvenience that some patients now experience,” says Espenhorst. “It also will reduce delays and increase efficiency in the provision of tests requiring contrast injection, and that will improve patient satisfaction overall.”

Until December 31, community members may make donations to the Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital at Easton to purchase either red lights as tributes to family or friends, living or deceased, or gold lights honoring those in the military, for $10 per light. White “life lights” that will be illuminated each year may be purchased for a donation of $100 or more.

The names of those honored or memorialized are inscribed on scrolls that will be displayed in the main lobby of the hospital throughout the holiday season.

The Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital at Easton is a volunteer organization that raises funds to benefit programs and services at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton and various outpatient locations at UM Shore Regional Health.

For additional information about the 36th Annual Tree of Lights Campaign or to request a donation form, contact Nancy Espenhorst, 443-746-3338 or nlehre@goeaston.net.

As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,200 employees, medical staff, board members and volunteers works with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.

The Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital at Easton celebrated service milestones of many of its members on Thursday, October 17, at their annual luncheon at the Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford.

At the luncheon, UM Shore Regional Health President and CEO Ken Kozel thanked Auxiliary members for their countless hours and generous support for UM SRH initiatives and provided an update on the health care network’s accomplishments during the past year. Keith McMahan, chairman, UM SRH Board of Directors, was introduced and expressed his admiration for Auxiliary and its support for UM Shore Medical Center at Easton, the Cancer Center at UM Shore Regional Health and UM Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown. Graham Lee, vice president, Philanthropy, thanked the Auxiliary members for providing two event sponsorships during 2019, $10,000 for the Fourth Annual Clay Shoot at Pintail Point benefiting the Clark Comprehensive Breast Center and $25,000 for the Annual UM SRH Golf Tournament benefiting Surgical Services at the hospital. Auxiliary President Liz Hannegan provided a review of the Auxiliary’s highlights in 2019, including the adoption of the organization’s new blue uniforms and the renovation of Maggie’s Gift Shop in the hospital.

Members of the Easton Auxiliary pause for a group photo after their annual luncheon at the Tred Avon Yacht Club.

Patti Willis, senior vice president, Strategy and Communications, announced the Auxiliary members honored for passing service milestones this year. They are:

For 100 Hours: Peggy Carusso, Bonnie Foxwell, Donald Goodliffe, Mark Greene, Beverly Hahn, Frances Mason, Merry McNeil, Marie Mueller, Joyce Mumaw, Nancy O’Connor, Sharon Ostrye, Ruth Renkenberger, Jim Robertson and Cressy Spence

For 250 Hours: Jane Ernst, Pepper Holmes, Midge Kroll, Jack Lane, Gabrielle May, Krishan Patel. Cornelius Potter, Barbara Shearer, Frederica Shirey, Judy Smith, Barbara Watters and Edward Wildasin

For 500 Hours: Karen Collins, Antoinette Cooper, Gloria Douma, Jane Holly, Kathy Hotz, Kirstie Kingston and Elaine Rippel

For 750 Hours: Diane Daffin, Richard Hill, Sherry Spencer and Mary Young

For 1000 Hours: Barbara Gardella, JoAnn Martin, Phyllis Matthai, Ronald Weber, Penny Womack and Mike Scheidt

For 1500 Hours: Judith Coffren, Thomas Cronshaw, Pauline Figliozzi, Virginia Ann Harvey, Jean Hobbs, Cecelia Laufert, Janet Pfeffer and Susan Silver

For 2000 Hours: Robert Savoie and Gervois Wooters

For 3000 Hours: William Hough and Emilie Joshi

For 4500 Hours: Doralice Cassidy and Liz Hannegan

For 4000 Hours: Nancy Espenhorst and Margaret Green

For 5000 Hours: Regina Holland and William Jenkins

For 5500 Hours: Anita Rowan

For 6000 Hours: Art Cecil

For 6500 Hours: Barbara Brown, Janet Granger and Bertha B. Wilson

For 8000 Hours: Carolyn Behr and Joyce Kent

For 9500 Hours: Gail Jenkins and Neal O’Shea

For 11,000 Hours: Terry Stephan

For 11,500 Hours: Debbie Hayes

For 12,500 Hours: Elva Pierce

For 15,500 Hours: Joe Shultz

For 16,500 Hours: Margaret Blair

For 21,500 Hours: Pauline Lane

As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,200 employees, medical staff, board members and volunteers works with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.

Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, a physician leader with deep roots across the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), including providing exceptional care for cancer patients and leading two of the system’s hospitals, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of UMMS, effective December 1,2019. Dr. Suntha has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), the system’s flagship academic medical center in downtown Baltimore, since May 2016, and previously as President and Chief Executive Officer for UM St. Joseph Medical Center (UM SJMC).

“The Board of Directors was focused on finding an exceptional leader to deliver expert medical care across the state, and it became a clear choice in Dr. Suntha,” said James “Chip” DiPaula, Jr., Chair of the UMMS Board of Directors.“Dr. Suntha is an accomplished physician, a skilled hospital executive and a proven leader, with experience managing in a complex, multi-site integrated health care system anchored by a flagship academic medical center. He is the right leader for UMMS and the people of Maryland.”

“It has been my privilege to lead the University of Maryland Medical Center and work alongside the talented employees and the University of Maryland School of Medicine (SOM) faculty, who care for some of the most complex patient cases in our nation,” Dr. Suntha said. “I am humbled and honored by the opportunity to now lead the 28,000 women and men of the University of Maryland Medical System who come to work each day to provide Marylanders with exceptional, high quality care. Together, we have a unique opportunity to drive the national health care conversation in defining value-based care while serving our tripartite mission.”

Prior to serving as UMMC’s President and CEO, Dr. Suntha served for four years as President and CEO of UM SJMC in Towson, one of the system’s 13 hospitals, and from 2009 to 2012, served as Vice President for System Program Development at UMMS. Dr. Suntha began his medical career with the University of Maryland SOM’s Department of Radiation Oncology in 1991 as a resident, became a member of the SOM Radiation Oncology faculty in 1995.  In 2008, Dr. Suntha became a tenured professor and was awarded the inaugural Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum endowed Professor of Radiation Oncology.  While serving as the system’s President and CEO, Dr. Suntha will continue seeing patients.

Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA

“Dr. Suntha has been a proven leader within our system and a staunch advocate for our patients for more than 20 years,” said John Ashworth, interim President and CEO.  “He has the credentials to lead our $4+ billion healthcare system and has the unique ability to manage administrative responsibilities while maintaining a commitment to academic medicine and patient care–a combination that is critical to the successful advancement of our system.”

“I have had the privilege of knowing Dr. Suntha, both as a faculty member and a faculty physician leader at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, for more than 13 years.” said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland SOM. “I am delighted that he has been selected as the next President and CEO of UMMS. His academic medical career has given him a unique perspective and insight, which will significantly benefit the system. While he has both experience and impeccable credentials, it is his interpersonal skills, passion and drive that are also major assets for our joint organization. Working in partnership with the University of Maryland SOM, UMMS is well positioned to be the premiere provider of discovery-based medical care for our state and the region.”

As President and CEO for both UMMC’s downtown and midtown campuses, Dr. Suntha was the guiding force in accelerating the integration of the two campuses. Under Dr. Suntha’s leadership, the Midtown Campus has undergone a dramatic transformation with new leadership and a renewed commitment to delivering high quality care. Perhaps a hallmark of Dr. Suntha’s tenure at UMMC, and a passion he will carry forward to UMMS, is his commitment to community engagement and service. Understanding UMMC’s unique role as an anchor institution in Baltimore City, Dr. Suntha championed causes that worked to strengthen the community through not only health and wellness initiatives but programs aimed at workforce development and youth mentoring.

“Dr. Suntha is the perfect choice to lead UMMS in this critical time and move our mission forward,” said The Honorable Alexander Williams, Jr, Esq., Vice Chair of the UMMS Board. “In his prior role, Dr. Suntha was responsible for championing strategies that drove clinical integration across UMMS, strengthening alignment with the SOM and developing new clinical affiliations and research agreements. He was also instrumental in the turnaround of UM SJMC, which was recently recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the highest-ranked community hospital in Maryland.”

The UMMS Board retained Russell Reynolds Associates, a global leadership advisory and search firm specializing in the health care industry, to conduct a rigorous external market evaluation and succession planning process, from which Dr. Suntha emerged as the lead candidate. Dr. Suntha was then presented to the full Board of Directors and unanimously elected as President and CEO of UMMS.

Dr. Suntha earned his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College, his MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and his undergraduate degree from Brown University. He resides in Baltimore County with his wife and two daughters.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is a university-based regional health care system focused on serving the health care needs of Maryland, bringing innovation, discovery and research to the care we provide and educating the state’s future physician and health care professionals through our partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the UM Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Dentistry in Baltimore. As one of the largest private employers in the State, the health system’s 28,000 employees and 4,000 affiliated physicians provide primary and specialty care in more than 150 locations and at 13 hospitals. UMMS’ flagship academic campus, the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore is partnered with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is recognized regionally and nationally for excellence and innovation in specialized care.  Our acute care and specialty rehabilitation hospitals serve urban, suburban and rural communities and are located in 13 counties across the state. In addition, UMMS operates health insurance plans serving Medicare and Medicaid members. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health recognized the loyalty, dedication and service of 367 team members at the annual service recognition lunch and dinner celebrations, held October 10 and 11, 2019 at The Milestone in Easton.

Team members who had reached their 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th and 45th years of service, along with those who had retired during the past year, were honored at the dinner event on October 10, while those celebrating their 10th and 15th years attended the luncheon on October 11. All told, this year’s honored team members represented more than 4,250 years of service to UM Shore Regional Health.

Honored for 45 years of service to UM Shore Regional Health were, l. to r., Vonnie Mende, Roxanne Ward, Lorraine Brice and Sadie Reveron.

“Shore Regional Health is indeed fortunate to enjoy such loyal dedication from its team members,” says Ken Kozel, UM SRH president and CEO. “Nationally,the mean tenure in a health care position is just four years and the average annual turnover rate in hospitals is estimated at 19.1 percent. I am both grateful and proud that in non-clinical as well as clinical areas, our turnover rate is much lower, around 13 percent, and that so many Shore Regional Health team members at all levels choose to be part of the ongoing care we provide our families, friends and neighbors.”

As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,200 employees, medical staff, board members and volunteers works with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.

To promote early detection of prostate cancer and honor Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, the Cancer Program at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) scheduled free screenings in Chestertown and Easton during September. UM Shore Medical Group – Urology physicians Christopher Parry, MD, provided free screenings during a September 23 event held at Mt. Olive AME Church in Chestertown, which was part of a partnership with the Kent County Health Department, and R. Duane Cespedes, MD, John Foley, MD, Andrew Riggin, MD, and Christopher Runz, DO, provided free screenings during a September 24 event at UM Shore Medical Group – Urology in Easton.

Photo: Volunteers during the evening event included Irene Cancio, Walter Chase, Walter Black, Teresa Green, Russet Jackson, Otis Sampson, Jerry Newnam, Suzanne Carley, Vernette Seward, Chanelle Lake, Leigh Mingos, Sylvia Potter, Charles Warner, Trish Pinhero, Faith Brown, Chanelle Lake, David Henry, Margot Spies, Roland Jones, Kevin Johnson, Childlene Brooks and Whitney Anders.

The free screenings, which included Spanish language translation services, attracted 57 participants. Volunteers assisted with greeting, directing and registering patients, and included Irene Cancio, Walter Chase, Walter Black, Teresa Green, Russet Jackson, Otis Sampson, Jerry Newnam, Suzanne Carley, Vernette Seward, Chanelle Lake, Leigh Mingos, Sylvia Potter, Charles Warner, Trish Pinhero, Faith Brown, Chanelle Lake, David Henry, Margot Spies, Roland Jones, Kevin Johnson, Childlene Brooks and Whitney Anders.

Prostate cancer screening does not end with September. Those interested in being screened are encouraged to discuss the testing with their primary care providers to determine if a blood test will benefit them in the early detection of prostate cancer and other prostate health issues.

About UM Shore Regional Health: As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,600 employees, medical staff, board members and volunteers work with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.