“Shore to Shore: Free Health Screenings for Marine Industry Workers” attracted strong participation from watermen, boat builders and other marine industry employees from the Kent County region.
The March 16th event at the American Legion in Rock Hall was a collaborative effort of University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown’s Rural Health Care Transformation and Community Outreach teams, Choptank Community Health Services, the Kent County Health Department and the Rock Hall Lions Club. Multiple health screenings (blood pressure, hearing, skin cancer and diabetes) were offered and health education materials and resources were provided.
Kira Thrift, NP, a primary care provider with Choptank Community Health Services, gives a hearing test to Jerry Spencer.
“The Shore to Shore event was a great success. We are thrilled to have provided free health screenings to 41 watermen and marine industry workers,” said Lara Wilson, Director of Rural Health Care Transformation for UM Shore Regional Health. “I was warmed to hear the great feedback from several participants about how much this event meant to them– the fact that health care professionals would come out to Rock Hall to make sure they could access these important health care screenings close to home and work.”
Screenings were made possible by a health disparities grant from the Kent County Health Department, and were provided by Choptank Community Health System providers and members of Shore Community Outreach Team (formerly the Mobile Wellness Team). Lions Club members provided information about obtaining eyeglasses, and the Kent County Health Department supplied health information materials.
“We are so grateful to these community partners who collaborated with us to make this unique event possible,” said Wilson. “The strong turnout and enthusiasm of the local marine industry and watermen community makes this a great example of effective rural health care delivery – meeting people where they are to improve their access to health care services and identify possible issues that can be addressed before they become so serious that emergency care or hospitalization is required.”
“Choptank Health is always exploring partnerships to expand our services and support healthy communities,” said Choptank Health CEO Sara Rich. “Working together with the Kent County Health Department, Shore Community Outreach Team and the Lions Club demonstrates what we can do when we come together, and this collaboration aligns with our mission of providing access to health care for all.”
UM Shore Medical Center’s Rural Health Care Transformation Director Lara Wilson, was on hand to greet screening participants with Gladys Peeples and Community Health Advocate Serenity Kelly.
About University of Maryland 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 2,200 employees, medical staff, board members and volunteers works with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.
About the University of Maryland Medical System
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.