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December 5, 2022

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

Health Health Lead Health Health Portal Lead

The Choptank Health Update: Chestertown and Kent County

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When Sara Rich came on board to lead the Choptank Community Health System in the summer of 2016, she and her board immediately started to work on a plan that would fundamentally change and improve the health care of the entire Mid-Shore. Despite the impact of COVID, Choptank has nonetheless moved forward on the nonprofit organization’s commitment to improve and expand affordable and accessible healthcare in the region.

Over the next few months, the Spy will be talking with Sara about Choptank’s increased support for local health needs and the advances they have made in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties.

We begin with Chestertown the Kent County.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about Choptank Community Health System please go here. 

 

 

The Danger of Pancreatic Cancer: A Chat with Survivor Bill Shrieves

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It the world of health education related to cancer, nothing can be more powerful and more effective than the testimony of someone who has survived the odds this this horrific disease. And in the case of pancreatic cancer, it’s hard not to be moved and motivated by the experience of Bill Shrieves.

The retired businessman, who heads up the Mid-Shore Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, was diagnosed 12 years ago and faced unbelievable odds.  Back then, and even now, most victims die within just a few months after the tumor has been identified, and the survival rate after four years is 11%. In fact, pancreatic cancer is the third largest cause of death with cancer patients.

Even more sobering is that pancreatic cancer is so hard to detect. As Shrieves points out, there are no standard tests, and the symptoms of the disease remain vague. That being said, abdominal and persistent low back pain are important clues, as is discolored urine, that something isn’t right. And increasingly, medical research is indicating  that adult onset diabetes might be another troubling sign.

With all that in mind, Bill Shrieves is determined to get the word out, particularly during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, for folks to reach out to there doctor if they are noticing these symptoms, especially if pancreatic cancer runs in their family.

The Spy sat down with Bill last week to learn more.

This video is approximately minutes in length. For more information about pancreatic cancer, volunteering or make a donation please visit the Mid-Shore Pancreatic Cancer Foundation here.

The Journey Begins on a Mid-Shore Flagship Hospital

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Last night a bit of Mid-Shore healthcare history was made. At a joint session of the councils of Easton and Talbot County, Shore Regional Health CEO Ken Kozel outlined the first major step in the creation of a flagship regional hospital for the five counties of the Mid-Shore of Maryland.

The first step is called a “Letter of Intent,” which will be sent to the State of Maryland’s Healthcare Commission next month. In short, this document demonstrates that the University of Maryland Medical System is serious about building a major state of the art health facility near the Easton airport in Talbot County.

But the second step is perhaps the more important of the two. In this case, UMMS will move forward with the documentation and filing of a “Certificate of Need.” Not only does UMMS need to document the need to build an expensive 350,000 square foot hospital, but that the community input of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot County citizens also needs to be documented.

“Building a new Regional Medical Center in Easton marks the most significant milestone in fulfilling our decades-long integrated facility and clinical service delivery plan,” said Ken Kozel, President and CEO of UM Shore Regional Health. “Our growing communities expect and deserve access to a state-of-the-art center with advanced clinical care.”

Since Shore Health System’s affiliation with UMMS in 2006 and subsequent merger with Chester River Health System to form UM Shore Regional Health in 2013, UM SRH and UMMS leaders have worked steadily with community partners throughout the five-county region to reimagine and improve health care delivery across roughly 2,000 square miles of rural communities. Investments in the region have included modern inpatient and outpatient health care services to the residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

UM SRH has spent the last several years laying the groundwork for the advancement of the new Regional Medical Center by making investments in other key supporting projects identified in the System’s integrated facility and clinical service delivery plan. The completion of the freestanding medical facility in Cambridge, several medical pavilions and stand-alone emergency rooms in the region, urgent care centers in Denton, Easton and Kent Island, and numerous major equipment upgrades have totaled over $150M in capital investments. Plans are also moving forward in Chestertown with the construction of an Aging & Wellness Center of Excellence on its current campus.

Submission of the CON marks the first of several regulatory actions over the next year required to move forward with relocating the current hospital on Washington Street in Easton, parts of which dates back to the early 1900s.

The new Regional Medical Center campus is slated to occupy over 230 acres off Longwoods Road near the intersection of U.S. Route 50, adjacent to the Talbot County Community Center. This location is approximately 3.5 miles from the current hospital, and will provide greater visibility, easier and safer access for ambulance and helicopter transport as well as ample parking for patients, staff and visitors.

The Spy caught up with Ken and Dr. Mohan Suntha, the University of Maryland’s Health System leader Dr. Mohan Suntha by Zoom yesterday in what the Spy hopes will be the first of a series on the new hospital project over the next few years.

 

This video is approximately 7 minutes in length. For more information about Shore Regional Health please go here.

 

 

 

Maryland Children Continue to Experience Mental Health Challenges

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Irene Diane is excited for her senior year at Bowie High School, serving as president of the school’s student government association and future aspirations to attend college.

But the 17-year-old Prince George’s County resident says mental health remains a challenge among her peers. One way to eliminate it: Maryland lawmakers should approve a statewide policy that mirrors legislation U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) introduced last year on Capitol Hill that diverts federal money for police in schools and use it to hire more school counselors and pay for other student services.

“Disciplining students for things that aren’t violent and implementing detentions and suspensions, that’s taken students out of the classroom,” Diane said. “It’s a disservice to take away their education.

“That affects a person’s mental health, especially Black and brown students and creates the school to prison pipeline.”

Irene Diane, 17, a senior at Bowie High School in Prince George’s County, said eliminating the school-to-prison pipeline serves as one way to eliminate mental health challenges among her peers. Photo courtesy of Irene Diane.

Mental health has become a major impediment in the nation to improving a child’s life, which the Annie E. Casey Foundation details in its latest 2022 Kids Count Data Book that assess children’s well-being nationwide and provides a state-by-state breakdown of services and performance.

The foundation’s 33rd edition focused on mental health and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected children and families when the virus crippled the nation beginning in March 2020.

The pandemic caused a delay in some data collection from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress. For instance, 4th grade reading and 8th grade math are based on 2019 data and high school graduation information from the 2019-20 school year didn’t come in time to publish in the data book.

Although national trends show children in poverty and parents who lack secure employment have become “better,” other factors became “worse,” such as 3- and 4-year-old children not in school and obesity increasing among those ages 10 to 17.

Black children ranked the highest in 2020 among those living in poverty, low-weight babies and being overweight or obese.

Nationally, the number of children ages 3 to 17 who experienced anxiety or depression increased by 25% from 9.4% in 2016 to 11.8% in 2020. The figures are based on those either diagnosed with or reported to have those symptoms by a doctor or health care provider.

During that same timeframe, Maryland ranked 13th in the nation with a 36% increase of children ages 3 to 17 with anxiety or depression either reported to or diagnosed by a doctor or health care provider.

Maryland ranked 19th in the nation for overall child well-being, which the foundation measured as “better.”

Among the foundation’s key indicators of economic well-being, education, health and family and community, Maryland ranked in the top half of 50 states and the District of Columbia.

‘Everyone deserves a break’

The Maryland Center on Economic Policy of Baltimore, which partnered with the foundation for the first time on the Kids Count report, offered some policy suggestions for Maryland lawmakers.

Benjamin Orr, president and CEO of the policy organization, said the legislature should extend the “modest” $500 child tax credit set to expire at the end of the year. The credit provides for families with annual incomes of $6,000 or less and have dependents with disabilities under the age of 17.

Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D-Montgomery) sponsored legislation this year to extend the child tax credit until Jan. 1, 2027. The annual family incomes would increase to $15,000 and provide the credit for children 6 and younger or under 17 years old for someone with a disability.

Palakovich Carr’s legislation didn’t advance out of a House committee, but she said in a Twitter post June 4 she will “keep fighting to expand Maryland child tax credit to include more families.”

Orr also said legislators must ensure both the paid family and medical leave program and the education reform plan, Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, are implemented and funded.

“We just can’t say we did that and stop paying attention,” he said. “We have to make sure those programs are actually fully funded [and] that they are producing the benefits that legislators intended.”

Stephanie Maceiko, a 16-year-old student at Bowie High School in Prince George’s, offered an idea that wouldn’t cost much money, if anything.

The high school junior proposes reinstating a 30-minute advisory period at the school used most of last school year. Similar to a study hall, she said students sat in class to catch up on classwork, complete homework, or simply relaxed without live instruction from a teacher.

“It was such a positive benefit for the school,” she said.

Less than a month into this school year, Maceiko said the only break during her eight-hour school day is a 30-minute lunch period between her two-hour third period class.

Although she’s preparing to attend college after high school graduation, the pressure of trying to get into a four-year university can be stressful.

The impact of COVID-19 influenced Maceiko to focus more on her mental health, even if that means sacrificing extra credit on a long-term project or major assignment.

“If it’s impacting me mentally, then I’ll just have two points [missing] so I don’t drain myself to the point where it’s unhealthy,” she said. “I manage my time so it doesn’t get too hectic and not too overwhelmed. Everyone deserves a break…because you will push yourself over the limit.”

Handling Grief As a Man – and Finding One’s Way After the Death of a Spouse

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The bereavement support group has wound down after about an hour and a half, with folks talking in small groups or milling around the table with homemade cookies and muffins, provided by the participants. Jack baked the bran walnut raisin muffins just the way he did when his wife was alive. The top of the muffins have been abundantly sprinkled with sugar. Jack would slice the top off for his wife, Diane, who liked the sweetness; he would eat the bottom half. Jack shares a muffin in this fashion with one of the women.

The only male member of the day’s 12-person-strong support group, Jack also participates in a weekly men’s-only meeting, where he is part of a very special brotherhood. I want to talk to Jack about this, but first, he tells me, he wants to talk with some of the women in the group that just broke up. The men in his support group, I have come to learn, encourage female company. The idea is that the companionship that’s been lost should be replaced, even at a much more casual level. It is a start. 

Ten minutes later, Jack and I are talking about the men’s group.

“We are like soldiers who have been in a foxhole. We have developed a love that is hard to explain,” Jack says, cutting to the chase. He credits the men’s group with aiming him toward light at the end of the tunnel when he couldn’t, he says, even see the tunnel. 

After Diane died suddenly of a heart attack, Jack was lost. After days in a haze of sadness and inactivity, he found himself looking for help. A friend suggested a Hospice-led bereavement support group—even though Diane hadn’t died while under Hospice care. (Bereavement support is available to anyone at all who wants this help.) Jack called the number he was given and got to speak to Lindy Barton, Talbot Hospice bereavement coordinator and social worker. She leads support groups at the Talbot Hospice office in Easton. Her wisdom and kindness are profoundly healing. 

“Grief exposes people to a different state of being and vulnerability,” says Lindy. In the group, the participants deeply support each other. “They are in a place of feeling safe to share concerns, emotions, and thoughts. They learn that it is okay to give themselves permission to grieve and that each of them will grieve in his own way, in his own time frame.”

“We five guys share our souls,” Jack says. Lindy also shares book recommendations with the group. “The green book, Understanding Your Grief by Alan D. Wolfelt, PH.D., she suggested was the eighth I’d read that touched on the subject of grieving,” he tells me. Finally, a chord was struck. Lindy had hit a home run.  

“What I learned in the very first sentence,” Jack continues, “is that grief is a process of adjusting. Yes, I’d had 54 years with my wife, and then she was gone.” The book reinforced that the loved one who is gone is honored when the one left behind resolves to take care of himself or herself. Jack has marked up the margins of the book with his comments and, here and there, a smiley face. Serving as the book’s bookmark: a photograph of his wife.

“We are more than classmates,” Jack offers. “We have developed nearly brother-like relationships while we help each other recover from loss.” They encourage each other to take action—to fill their time with things that will gratify, such as spending time with family. 

“The group participants learn that if the grief process is delayed, it is more difficult to discover hope and joy again,” Lindy adds.  “I have appreciated watching participants come to the understanding that it is okay to accept that life will never be as they once knew. We talk a lot about reconciliation and transitioning.” Lindy underscores, “The grief never fully goes away but it can be changed.”  However, she says, “As long as you can mourn, then you can dance again.”

Jack shares that the men’s group has moments of lightheartedness interlaced with the sadness that comes with devastating loss. The darkness certainly can overwhelm. Jack tells of learning that one of his cohorts was in such a black place that he was contemplating suicide. Jack listened. He asked questions. He gave support, love, and the assurance that he was there for him. His friend pulled through.

In the end, as Lindy explains, the men’s bereavement group is a collection of individuals moving toward a new normal. “Their communication with each other is heartwarmingly realistic as they express their concerns, hopes, dreams, and fears while learning that what they are going through is sometimes normal during periods of sorrow.

Weaving throughout many of the men’s discussions is the concept of mindfulness—“of being in the moment,” as Lindy explains it, offering that the best way to be in the moment is to “be kind, patient, trusting, accepting.” Certainly a good way to move through the healing process.

Sheila Feldman Buckmaster is a staff member at Talbot Hospice in Easton. For more information about Talbot Hospice’s various bereavement support groups, call Lindy Barton or Jody Gunn at 410-822-6681 (116).

 

 

 

Marylanders Encouraged to get New COVID Vaccine

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Governor Larry Hogan announced Friday that new single-dose bivalent boosters for COVID-19 will be widely available in Maryland after Labor Day. Some doses of the new boosters — which target the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike proteins — are already pre-positioned around the state.

Hogan (R) said all Marylanders 12 and older are encouraged to get the new shot two months after their most recent COVID vaccination.

“While federal guidance has made it confusing at times for people to know if and when they’re eligible, everyone 12 and older will be able to get to this new shot,” Hogan said in a statement. “Maryland continues to be one of the most vaccinated and boosted states, and we have always focused on staying ahead of the virus, which is why getting this new shot is so critical.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday signed off on the approval from the agency’s independent vaccine advisers that recommended the updated coronavirus vaccine booster this fall.

The CDC recommended boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for those who are 12 years old and older and from Moderna for those who are 18 and older. These are known as “bivalent” vaccines because they are formulated to protect against the original coronavirus strain as well as the Omicron variant, which is highly contagious.

“Updated COVID-19 boosters add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination by targeting variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading,” the CDC said in its announcement.

The pandemic is ongoing, and more than 1 million Americans have died from the coronavirus and another 95 million cases have been reported.

In Maryland, 14,930 have died from the virus and more than 1.2 million positive cases have been reported.

CDC guidance states that those who have been infected with COVID-19 can get a booster following recovery from symptoms, but can defer a vaccine booster up to three months following infection.

If someone has received an original two-shot vaccine from either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, they can wait five months before getting their first booster shot.

For the second booster shot, the CDC recommends that those who are immunocompromised and people over the age of 50 who got their first booster, wait at least four months before getting another booster.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that the updated COVID-19 boosters are “formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variant.”

“They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants,” she said. “This recommendation followed a comprehensive scientific evaluation and robust scientific discussion.”

She encouraged those who are eligible to get the COVID-19 booster to do so to prepare for the fall.

The CDC also recommends that those who are getting the Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox space out that vaccine with their COVID-19 booster.

By Ariana Figueroa and Danielle E. Gaines

Maryland Hospitals Face Most Critical Staffing Shortage in Recent Memory

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Maryland hospitals are struggling to cope with a significant shortage of nurses and the problem is certain to get worse if steps aren’t taken to recruit newcomers to the profession and retain existing workers, according to a new report.

The 2022 State of Maryland’s Health Care Workforce Report, released by the Maryland Hospital Association on Monday, found that one of every four nursing positions is vacant.

“Maryland hospitals face the most critical staffing shortage in recent memory,” according to the association. “High staff turnover, shifting care delivery models, and an insufficient talent pipeline are pushing the workforce to an unsustainable point.”

Maryland is currently short 5,000 full-time registered nurses and 4,000 licensed practical nurses. If steps aren’t taken to lure new workers and reduce the number of nurses leaving the profession, the state could see shortages two or three times larger than current levels by 2035, according to the report.

“The workforce challenges that we are facing are unsustainable,” said Nicole Stallings, the head of external affairs for the MHA.

The report cites several primary factors for the soaring vacancy rates. Nurses are overworked, face occasional violence in the workplace, and feel under-appreciated.

“Workforce challenges predated the COVID-19 pandemic, but the situation is now alarming,” said the association’s CEO, Bob Atlas, in a statement. “Any threat to the workforce of our 60 hospitals and health systems threatens the health and wellness of all Marylanders and stability of our state’s core functions. We cannot take for granted that our excellent health care workforce will always be there.”

Stallings said the association hopes the report offers a roadmap for institutions, educators and policymakers. The nursing shortage is expected to become more acute as the Baby Boom generation ages, she said.

The report found the most populated parts of the state have the highest vacancy rates. Central Maryland, which includes the Baltimore metropolitan region, and the Washington, D.C., suburbs have vacancy rates just over 26%. In Southern and Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore, vacancy rates are between 13% and 17%.

Many nurses have opted to work for agencies, as “travel nurses,” moving from hospital to hospital, often earning more money and working fewer hours. That phenomenon has pushed up hospital costs while increasing the workload on the remaining staff, which in turn feeds the exodus.

The report makes a number of recommendations:

  • Hospitals should consider adopting more worker-friendly schedules, shifts and roles
  • Safety policies should be strengthened
  • Career advancement opportunities for nurses should be expanded
  • Hospitals should streamline the administrative burden nurses face
  • Hospitals should expand the “pipeline” by offering stipends and other financial incentives for people considering a career in nursing
  • Hospitals should make it easier for military nurses and those who have received training overseas to earn accreditation in Maryland
  • Hospitals should increase the number of nursing instructors and nursing school capacity
  • State policymakers should promote tele-health, outpatient care and “hospital-at-home” models

“This data-driven report lays the groundwork to address the long-standing, and now urgent need to strengthen our pipeline of nurses in Maryland,” said Ed Lovern, president & CEO of Ascension Saint Agnes and the chairman of the Task Force on Maryland’s Future Health Workforce, in a statement.

“While we won’t fix the nursing shortage overnight, the Task Force urges immediate and concerted actions to shore up the health care workforce we will need for generations to come.”

Stallings said that 20% of nursing students drop out after the first semester. Figuring out how to reduce that drop-off could help address the overall shortage of personnel, she said.

By Bruce DePuyt

Dorchester County Reports First Monkeypox Case

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A human monkeypox virus infection has been reported in a Dorchester County resident. This is the first case reported in the county and the 87th case in Maryland thus far.

“Although human monkeypox is rare in the U.S. and the risk of transmission to the general public is low, we urge residents to learn about the signs and symptoms, exercise caution, and continue to practice good hygiene, including frequent washing of hands with soap and water,” Roger L. Harrell, Dorchester County’s health officer, said.

Anyone who has the characteristic rash or other symptoms or who thinks they may have been exposed to monkeypox should call their health care provider immediately.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses as smallpox. Monkeypox is not related to chickenpox. Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, but milder; and monkeypox is rarely fatal.
The monkeypox virus can spread from person-to-person through:

• direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids
• respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex
• touching items (such as clothing or linens) that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids
Symptoms of monkeypox can include:
• fever, headache, muscle aches and backache,
• swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and,
• a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.

The rash goes through different stages before healing completely. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks. Sometimes, people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms. Others only experience a rash.

Pathways of Support by Talbot Hospice: A Chat with Megan Murray

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For decades now, the staff and volunteers at Talbot Hospice have repeatedly stressed that their organization is so much more than supporting people at the end of their life. While Talbot Hospice is indeed proud of the thousands of families, it has helped during these difficult moments since it started operating in 1981. But since that time, it has developed dozens of programs, from grief support to pulmonary care to significantly broaden the scope and range of its services.

One of those is called Pathways.

Pathways is a no charge, volunteer program of supportive services for people diagnosed with life-limiting illnesses. Patients who choose Pathways services are welcome to seek any kind of treatment: life-extending, palliative or curative. The program is open to people with long-term chronic conditions such as Congestive Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Cancer and Alzheimer’s who are approaching the late stages of their illnesses.

Anyone can make a referral to the Pathways Program for someone they know who is coping with a life-limiting illness. The process begins with a call to the Director of Pathways at 410-822-6681, who will then contact the patient and the caregiver.

The Spy recently sat down with Megan Murray, the Pathways coordinator at Talbot Hospice, to learn more about the program and its impact.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about Talbot Hospice and their Pathways program please go here .