For more than four decades, Choptank Community Health has been building a healthcare network around the primary idea that people should be able to get the care they need, regardless of where they live or whether they have adequate insurance.
Founded in 1980 as Caroline Health Services, the nonprofit began with a medical center in Goldsboro after local advocates recognized the need for better access to healthcare on the Eastern Shore. Today, Choptank Community Health operates seven health centers across five counties and serves approximately 35,000 people. Its services now include primary medical care, dental care, behavioral health, prenatal care and specialty dental services.
For CEO Sara Rich, who has led the organization for the past decade, Choptank’s growth remains tied to the original mission of community health centers: removing the barriers that can make healthcare particularly difficult to obtain in rural communities.
“Community health centers were really put into place to reduce barriers related to transportation, cost, language, access to maybe some specialty services as well,” Rich said. “I love that Choptank is part of that story.”
That mission is increasingly visible in Kent County. Choptank opened its Chestertown location on Philosopher’s Terrace in 2022 and has since renovated the approximately 11,000-square-foot facility around an integrated model of care. Primary care providers now work alongside behavioral health therapists, while dental services, including pediatric dentistry and specialized treatment for oral and facial pain, were added this year.
“It’s really about having that one-stop shop,” Rich said. “Our primary care providers, our behavioral health providers, our dental providers all work together. We’re communicating, we’re working on internal referrals, external referrals, and really wrapping around our patients and families to make sure they’re connected with what they need.”
Choptank’s reach extends well beyond the Chestertown office. The organization works with UM Shore Regional Health, the Kent County Health Department, local schools and other community partners. Its Rock Hall health center serves both students and the wider community, while Choptank provides behavioral health, medical and dental services in Kent County schools and uses a mobile health unit to bring care directly into the community.
The Chestertown Health Center team includes:
- Medical:Caleb Consenstein, MD; Kristina Semonick, CRNP; Morgan Bleinberger, CRNP, FNP-C; and Lauren Burnett, CRNP, FNP-C
- Dental:Beatrice Bautista, DMD, pediatric dentist; Areeg Elmusrati, BDS, Phd, general dentist; and Lisa Clough, RDH, dental hygienist
- Behavioral health:Carly Boughner, LCSW-C; Amy Piccaluga, LCPC; and Deborah Piez, LCPC
In the Spy’s recent conversation with Rich, she discusses how that network has grown and why, in rural healthcare, bringing services closer to home can make all the difference.
New patients are welcome. Learn more or request an appointment at choptankhealth.org or call the Chestertown Health Center at 443-215-5353.
