Shore Leadership held their June session at the Chesapeake Culinary Center in Caroline County on Wednesday, June 21st . The 2017 Shore Leadership class began their morning learning about Transformational Leadership with the guidance of Leadership Facilitator, Dr. Joe Thomas. The class studied the differences between transactional, laissez faire’ and transformational leadership and reviewed the application of each leadership style through various case studies.
In the afternoon, regional topics covered included Health Care and the Heroin Epidemic. Susan Johnson, RN, BSN, MPH, the Vice President of Quality and Population Health at Choptank Community Health emphasized the need for sustainable, affordable rural health care especially in areas that are not geographically located near a hospital or emergency center. Patti Willis, Senior Vice President for Strategy and Communications for University of Maryland Shore Regional Health then reviewed the transition of the Mid-Shore’s hospital and health system from the Memorial Hospital of Easton to University of Maryland Shore Regional Health and the value of the transition to the communities on the Mid-Shore.
Caroline County Sheriff, Randy Bounds, and Caroline County Warden, Ruth Colbourne, later introduced members of the Local Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council who meet monthly with representatives from multiple agencies, including education and social services, to help address the heroin epidemic in Caroline County. Each county in Maryland has a similar committee as part of Governor Larry Hogan’s fight against heroin and opioid addiction. The class watched a video entitled, “Hope after Heroin” and then heard from a recovering heroin addict who is now a member of the Local Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council. The presentations were met with lots of questions from the Shore Leadership class with a reoccurring concern to determine, “How can we help?”
This is the first time that Shore Leadership has covered heroin and opioid addiction concerns as part of their 10-month program. Several of the 2017 class members recommended duplicating this session next year for the class of 2018.
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