Ryan C. Davis, CPNP-PC

University of Maryland Shore Medical Group (UM SMG) announces the addition of a new pediatric care provider, Ryan C. Davis, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC, whose specialties include neonatal care and treatment of acute and chronic pediatric illnesses. With pediatricians Mark Langfitt, MD and Richard Fritz, MD, Davis is seeing patients at UM SMG – Pediatrics located at the Shore Medical Pavilion at Easton, 500 Cadmus Lane, Suite 210.

Davis joined UM SMG from Morristown, Tennessee where he served as a nurse practitioner for an outpatient clinic, Hamblen Pediatric Associates. In addition, he served at Pediatrix Medical Group, which provided newborn nursery rounding at Morristown Hamblen Hospital – Covenant Health.  Previously, he worked as an RN at the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and at the University of Tennessee Medical Center’s Pediatric Intensive Care Trauma Unit.

Davis earned his M.S. in Nursing – Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from the University of Tennessee in 2017 where he received the award for Clinical Excellence – Pediatric Nurse Practitioner.  He is certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and in Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP).

“Thanks to his experience in neonatal care and pediatric acute care, as well as in outpatient pediatric practice, Ryan Davis is an excellent addition to the UM Shore Medical Group – Pediatrics team,” stated William Huffner, MD, chief medical officer and senior vice president, Medical Affairs. “We are glad to have him on board with us.”

UM Shore Medical Group – Pediatrics may be reached by calling 410-822-8550.

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 2,500 employees, medical staff, board members, and volunteers works with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.

Mobile Integrated Healthcare provides connections to individually tailored community resources at home. We encourage all agencies interested to attend. Light refreshments will be provided. This event will be on July 17th at 12pm, Talbot County Operations Center, 605 Port St. Easton. Please email to let us know if you are attending or have any questions: gfries@talbgov.org

This program is brought to you by Talbot County Department of Emergency Services and Talbot County Health Department.

The recent 5th annual Sporting Clays Classic was a great success, netting $77,227 to benefit the breast imaging and biopsy equipment and program needs of the Clark Comprehensive Breast Center at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health.

Offered by UM Memorial Hospital Foundation at The Point at Pintail in Queenstown on June 9, 2019, the Sporting Clays Classic attracted 226 registered shooters who enjoyed morning competition, lunch for participants, various prizes, raffles and a silent auction of items donated by local businesses and community members.

“It was really a perfect day, sunny and breezy, and we had a great group of competitors,” said F. Graham Lee,vice president for philanthropy at UM SRH. “I am very grateful to this year’s Sporting Clays Committee and to our sponsors, both the businesses and the individuals who stepped up to support the event.”

Sponsorships from community members and businesses played a vital role in the success of the event. Key sponsors included Auxiliary of the Memorial Hospital at Easton, Paul and Joanne Prager, Preston Automotive Group, Jack and Susan Stoltz, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Doug James Real Estate Services, Attraction Magazine, The Point at Pintail, APG Chesapeake, Willow Construction, Bullock Construction, Inc., CBIZ MHM, LLC and BSC Group, LLC, Chaney Enterprises, Gillis Gilkerson, Roberta Lilly, MD, Nancy Morton, R. Scott and Courtney Clark Pastrick, Shore Radiology, Shore United Bank and Tidewater Anesthesia Associates, PA.

Last year, the Clark Comprehensive Breast Center team provided breast care to more than 2,100 patients, diagnosing more than 100 new cases of breast cancer and performing 452 breast biopsies. These numbers reflect a significant increase in patient volumes over previous years.

The goal of the 2019 Sporting Clays Classic was to raise $85,000 for an MRI Breast Coil, which will be used to fully image breast patients and perform MRI-guided breast biopsy. The $77,227 raised during the event means the UM Memorial Hospital Foundation is well on the way to reaching that $85,000 goal.

“All of us at The Clark Comprehensive Breast Center appreciate the continued support of our local community,” says Roberta J. Lilly, MD, medical director, Clark Comprehensive Breast Center. “Diagnostic and treatment technologies in cancer care are continually evolving, and we are very grateful to the Foundation, the volunteers and participants in the Sporting Clays Classic for their help in ensuring that we have state-of-the-art equipment to provide the best possible care for our patients.”

Prizes were given to each of the winners of the highest overall (HOA) score in their category, as follows:  Mike Parkhurst (men’s), Diane Sorantino (women’s), Jackson Eschelman (juniors’) and Team Jack Stoltz #1 (team). The top three of each Lewis class also received prizes, as follows: Lewis Class One, 1st place – David Collins, Sr., 2nd place – Bruce Jones, and 3rd place – Joseph Carroll; Lewis Class Two, 1st place – Mark Helmick, 2nd place – Daniel Carroll and 3rd place – Richard Blanchard; Lewis Class Three, 1st place – Carter Stanton, 2nd place – Lee Hurd, and 3rd place-Chris Wright.

Other winners were Ferris Butler, gun raffle winner; Jesse Hammett, game prize winner; and Dennis Green, Clay Conservation Award winner.

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.

Shore Regional Health has announced that it will prepare a modified Certificate of Exemption (COE) application to the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) to move inpatient behavioral health beds and services in 2021 from UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester to UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown. If submitted and approved, the move would occur when the freestanding medical facility (FMF) opens in Cambridge in summer 2021.

Preparation of the modified COE is anticipated to take 60 to 90 days, with possible final approval by the Shore Regional Health and University of Maryland Medical System Boards to submit the COE in September 2019. After approval by the MHCC, construction of the inpatient unit at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown could begin, toward a 2021 opening.

The modified COE will affect only the behavioral health beds; plans remain in place for the Dorchester hospital’s medical-surgical beds to be relocated to Easton when the FMF opens in summer 2021.

This timeline also enables UM Shore Regional Health leaders and behavioral health providers to develop a staffing transition plan and work with community partners to develop an expanded network of outpatient community-based support services throughout the five-county region.

“We are grateful for the physicians, advanced practice providers and team members at Shore Behavioral Health who provide such compassionate, quality care for our patients,” said Ken Kozel, CEO.  “Their dedication and healing work benefits patients under the most challenging circumstances.”

“Shore Regional Health’s Service Delivery Plan includes a commitment to join with our community partners to create a robust behavioral health continuum of integrated inpatient and outpatient services to serve the region. We are enthusiastic about the prospect of this plan and the positive impact it will have on health care in all five counties, including this opportunity, among others that may emerge in support of rural health care,  to enhance the stability of  inpatient services at Shore Medical Center at Chestertown,”said Kozel.

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 2,500 employees, medical staff, board members, and volunteers works with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.

‘Channel Marker presents the Kevin Hines Story’, an evidenced based suicide prevention, free speaking engagement open to the public.  Kevin Hines is a national suicide survivor, public speaker, award winning documentary filmmaker, and best-selling author. In the Year 2000, Kevin attempted to take his life by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Many factors contributed to his miraculous survival including a sea lion which kept him afloat until the Coast Guard arrived. Kevin now travels the world sharing his story of hope, healing, and recovery while teaching people of all ages the art of wellness and the ability to survive pain with true resilience.

The event will be held at the Todd Performing Arts Center at Chesapeake College, on Thursday September 19, as a two-part speaking engagement. The Suicide Prevention Education for Professionals session begins at 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm.  CEUs will be provided by Mid Shore Behavioral Health, Inc. Mid Shore Behavioral Health, Inc. is an approved sponsor of the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners for continuing education credits for licensed social workers in Maryland. This session is ideal for school professionals, first responders, veterans, healthcare and human service professionals.

The ‘Kevin Hines Story’ concludes the second session with a FREE Public event from 6:30 pm-8:00 pm.

Channel Marker welcomes you to partner with us as an event sponsor to help increase awareness of the importance of suicide prevention and education, encourage the community to start talking about the topic of suicide, and to promote healthy healing as well as shining a light on hope for individuals and their communities.

Our Mission

Channel Marker creates a healthy Mid-Shore community through mental illness prevention programs, wellness support, and adaptive community services to individuals and their families.

For more information about this event or to register for the Suicide Prevention Education for professionals session visit www.channelmarker.org.

Dermatology physicians, advanced practice providers and volunteers from the Kent County Health Department, Easton Dermatology Associates and Shore Dermatology in Cambridge, along with staff and volunteers from the Cancer Center at UM Shore Regional Health screened 119 people for skin cancer during screenings held during May and June.

“It is really gratifying to work with our community partners, including the physicians and advanced practice providers and their staff, to provide these potentially life-saving screenings every year,” said Jeanie Scott, Cancer Center manager. “This year, the screenings resulted in 37 recommendations for biopsies or other follow up and two cases of melanoma were diagnosed, which really shows the value of taking advantage of screening opportunities.”

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.

The Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and Dorchester County Health Department (DCHD) are looking for children with asthma.

Asthma attacks are a major reason many children miss school days and parents miss time from work. These attacks can happen because environmental issues in the home, such as dust, pets, mold and tobacco smoke just to name a few.

AHEC and DCHD are working together to identify families who have children with asthma, educate them about their disease, and how to avoid triggers that can cause an asthma attack.

This program offers at least 3 home visits, provides asthma education and how to decrease flare ups. Supplies such as a hepa filter vacuum cleaner, mattress cover, and cleaning supplies are provided free of charge. Visit can be made around the family’s schedule, including evenings and weekends.

If your child, 18 years old or under, has asthma, and resides in Dorchester County, please call Kate Price with Dorchester County Health Department at 410-901-8183 for more information.

Lesa Lee, LCSW-C, and Clinical Director at For All Seasons

For All Seasons received a grant from the Queen Anne’s County Local Management Board that will provide a four-day training in Theraplay for over 35 members of For All Seasons clinical team. Theraplay is a child and family therapy for building and enhancing attachment, self-esteem, trust in others, and joyful engagement. It is based on the natural patterns of playful, healthy interaction between parent and child and is personal, physical, and fun.

Theraplay interactions focus on four essential qualities found in parent-child relationships: Structure, Engagement, Nurture, and Challenge. In treatment, the Theraplay Practitioner guides the parent and child through playful, fun games, developmentally challenging activities, and tender, nurturing activities in each of the four dimensions.

According to Lesa Lee, LCSW-C, and Clinical Director at For All Seasons, who was the first to be trained in Theraplay, “The most common use of Theraplay is to build on the attachment between child and caregiver. It can also be used in individual therapy, especially in assessing and building a child’s capacity to manage challenges and tolerance for structure.”

Lee adds, “It assesses the strengths and vulnerabilities of child and family and can be used from a state of pre-pregnancy through adolescence. For at-risk mothers, it can help how a mother feels about her baby – creating an early attachment to her child.”

Theraplay sessions create an active, emotional connection between the child and parent or caregiver, resulting in a changed view of the self as worthy and lovable and of relationships as positive and rewarding.

For All Seasons serves Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne, and Talbot counties. For All Seasons Rape Crisis Center offers certified sexual assault victim advocates; counseling and support groups, free and confidential services in English and Spanish, support in the hospital, police department, and court, and referrals to social and legal services. For All Seasons English Hotline is 1-800-310-RAPE (7273) and Spanish Hotline is 410-829-6143.