Tomorrow, member organizations of the University of Maryland Medical System will join the World Health Organization’s World Patient Safety Day (WPSD) movement to recognize patient safety issue as a global health priority.  This year’s theme for WPSD is “Health Worker Safety: A Priority for Patient Safety.”

Observing WPSD, UMMS is highlighting the importance of keeping health care workers safe and promoting patient safety, two issues critically important especially during the time of the global COVID-19 pandemic. A significant focus during COVID-19 is encouraging and reminding individuals to wear a mask to protect everyone, including those who care for our sickest individuals. All UMMS member organizations will be promoting this effort across their campuses and social media properties on September 17.

“We are all in this together and are fully supportive of recognizing patient safety as a global health priority,” said Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, President and CEO of UMMS. “As a System, nothing is more important than keeping our patients and employees safe. I have been impressed by how our System has truly come together as OneUMMS during our COVID-19 response, which has benefitted our patients and those in the communities we serve across the state.”

World Patient Safety Day was established by the 72nd World Health Assembly in May 2019 with a goal of bringing together health workers, patients, families, care-givers, communities, health care leaders and policy-makers to demonstrate commitment to health worker safety and patient safety. The overall objectives of World Patient Safety Day include enhancing the global understanding of patient safety, increasing public engagement in the safety of health care and promoting global actions to enhance patient safety and reduce patient harm. The origin of the Day is firmly grounded in the fundamental principle of medicine – First, do no harm.

UMMS has a workforce of 28,000 employees and delivers approximately 25 percent of all hospital care in Maryland.

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.

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) announced this past spring that University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown and UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester’s laboratories successfully met the Laboratory Accreditation Program Standards for Accreditation. This is Chestertown’s 15th bi-annual re-accreditation and Dorchester’s 19th bi-annual re-accreditation of this gold standard accomplishment.

“Chestertown has shown high standards of laboratory excellence since their first inspection in 1991. Dorchester has been participating since 1983, displaying a high standard of excellence in each inspection,” says Juliana Hospodor, director, Laboratory Services, UM Shore Regional Health. “Our teams continuously work to maintain the high standard of care expected by CAP.”

As part of the accreditation process, participating laboratories also do peer inspections of other hospital labs. Recently, UM SMC at Chestertown’s Laboratory Services team received a letter of commendation from CAP for their inspection of another laboratory.

CAP awards accreditation every two years and laboratories must maintain continuous compliance throughout their accreditation term. UM Shore Medical Center at Easton and UM Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown were re-accredited in 2019. This is the 25th re-accreditation of UM SMC at Easton’s Laboratory, which began participating in CAP accreditation in 1971. UM SEC at Queenstown first became accredited in 2011.

“I want to congratulate our entire team on this achievement, as together we help to provide excellence in laboratory medicine services for UM Shore Regional Health,” says Hospodor. “We strive to provide the very best in laboratory medicine to the people of the Eastern Shore each day. This is a significant accomplishment and we are pleased to offer such a high quality commitment to our communities and the patients we serve.”

The College of American Pathologists serves patients, pathologists and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of laboratory medicine; and the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program is the gold standard for laboratory practices throughout the world. For 70 years, CAP has fostered excellence in laboratories and advanced the practice of pathology and laboratory science. There are currently more than 4,800 laboratories in Maryland – but only 130 have achieved CAP Accreditation. The laboratories at UM Shore Regional Health have been participating in the CAP Accreditation program for almost 50 years.

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 congregation of Hurlock United Methodist Church recently donated $2624 to UM Memorial Hospital Foundation to benefit the Wig Room at the Cancer Center at UM Shore Regional Health. Pastor Joan Brooks presented the check to Jeanie Scott, Oncology Services manager, earlier this month.

According to Scott, Pastor Brooks indicated that the congregation was inspired to give because of one of their members has been undergoing cancer treatment. They wanted to do something to honor her journey, and once Pastor Brooks put out the call, members responded very generously within a week’s time.

“Patients who undergo cancer care often have physical changes,” says Scott. “Those changes that are easily visible can add to an already stressful ordeal.  Gifts like these can make a world of difference! We are extremely appreciative for the generosity of the Hurlock United Methodist parishioners’ generosity.”

Jeanie Scott accepts a donation from the Hurlock United Methodist Church congregation presented by Pastor Joan Brooks.

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.

UM Memorial Hospital Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization serving the fundraising needs of UM Shore Medical Center at Easton and UM Shore Regional Health. Through its philanthropic efforts, the Foundation supports UM Shore Regional Health’s ability to provide quality healthcare to the local community by contributing to hospital programs and services.

University of Maryland Memorial Hospital Foundation will host Part II of the three-part series “Getting Your Affairs in Order” on Tuesday,September 15, 2020 from 12p.m. to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

“Basic Estate Planning” will discuss essential estate planning documents, living trusts, property titling, beneficiary designations and ensuring a legacy for one’s loved ones.

The seminar will feature guest presenters Diana Johnson, Employee Benefits Broker and Consultant, Avon-Dixon, an Alera Group Agency, LLC and JoRhea Nagel Wright, Esquire and Partner, Armistead, Lee, Rust & Wright, P.A.

Diana Johnson, Employee Benefits Broker and Consultant, Avon-Dixon, an Alera Group Agency, LLC; and JoRhea Nagel Wright, Esquire and Partner, Armistead, Lee, Rust & Wright, P.A.

This seminar is free and open to the public; pre-registration is required.The final seminar in this series is Getting Your Affairs in Order:  Part III-Avoiding Potential Titling Pitfalls and is scheduled for Tuesday October 13, 2020. For more information or to register, please contact Janet Andrews,410-822-1000, ext. 5792, or janet@umm.edu.

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.

UM Memorial Hospital Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization serving the fundraising needs of UM Shore Medical Center at Easton and UM Shore Regional Health. Through its philanthropic efforts, the Foundation supports UM Shore Regional Health’s ability to provide quality healthcare to the local community by contributing to hospital programs and services.

The Heart and Vascular Center at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health has received the Mission: Lifeline® Gold Plus Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks.The Cardiac Intervention Center, located in UM Shore Medical Center at Easton, has been in operation since February 2018.

Winning this award required the CIC to meet specific criteria and standards of performance for quick and appropriate treatment through emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries in heart attack patients coming into the hospital directly or by transfer from another facility.

“We are proud to have met these guidelines outlined by Mission: Lifeline®. The national target for these patients entering a facility and having blood flow restored, or ‘Door to Balloon’ time, is 90 minutes. Shore Regional Health’s cardiologists and Cardiac Intervention Team are meeting that target time and then some. We are achieving ‘door to balloon’ times of under 60 minutes more than 98 percent of the time,” says Stephen Eisemann, interim director, Heart and Vascular Center, UM SRH.

UM Shore Medical Center at Easton was issued a four-year accreditation as a Cardiac Intervention Center in 2019 following a Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) survey.

Every year, more than 250,000 people experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the deadliest type of heart attack, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment.

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline®program’s goal is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks. The initiative provides tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care.

“This is a wonderful accomplishment that takes tremendous dedication and sacrifice from all those involved,” says Eisemann. “The award is made possible by the collaboration between our emergency departments and other units within our hospitals, and our emergency medical services teams throughout our five-county region. These team efforts are vital to patient survival.”

According to Eisemann,EMS team members evaluate patients during transport to initiate treatment and to activate the Cath Lab Call Team process. At UM Shore Medical Center in Easton, cardiac interventionists work quickly with a team of nurses and technologists to perform emergent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). PCI is a minimally invasive procedure that opens up blood vessels in the heart that have been narrowed by plaque buildup.

Before the CIC designation in 2018, patients in the region experiencing STEMI heart attacks (ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) were transferred to the closest CIC that offered treatments for this type of heart attack, which occurs in about 15 to 20 percent of all heart attack patients. Many STEMI heart attack patients were transported by ambulance or helicopter to hospitals in Annapolis, Salisbury, Delaware or Baltimore. Travel times alone pushed the boundaries of the desired target time of under 90 minutes, and optimally within 60 minutes.

“Having the Cardiovascular Intervention Center— and particularly providing primary PCI treatments — is a rare gift to a rural area,” says Dr. Jeffrey Etherton,medical director, Interventional Cardiology, UM SRH. “Every minute counts when it comes to patient survival. I am so proud of our CIC teams and so grateful for community partnerships like the ones we have with Emergency Medical Services in our five county-region.”

Eisemann said Shore Regional Health is dedicated to providing quality care for heart attack patients.

“Our program is unique because we are providing services to three acute care hospitals and four emergency departments. Our ability to provide this high level of care to our community is completely dependent on ensuring that these services are available 24/7, 365 by our dedicated staff, who are always on call, to respond within 30 minutes of a STEMI emergency.”

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.

Dr. Jeffrey Etherton, medical director, Interventional Cardiology, UM SRH

Dr. Gabriel Sardi, interventional cardiologist

Dr. Ivan Pena Sing, interventional cardiologist