University of Maryland Shore Regional Health has appointed Gary Jones as the first director of the newly established Heart and Vascular Center at UM SRH. The alignment of Shore’s cardiology and vascular service lines as the Heart and Vascular Center reflects a standard practice across University of Maryland Medical System, and reflects Shore Regional Health’s comprehensive list of cardiovascular services.

Jones most recently served as regional director, Cardiovascular Services. UM Shore Regional Heath has a history of establishing a number of specialty services in cardiovascular care over the years, including a non-invasive Vascular Lab, Sleep Disorders Centers at all three hospitals, a diagnostic Cardiac Cath Lab, cardiac rhythm device implantation services, Atlantic C-PORT Trial, cardiac rehab services at UM Shore Medical Centers at Chestertown and Dorchester, expanded cardiovascular services in Easton and Queenstown, and emergency PCI research. In 2016, cardiacelectrophysiology and interventional cardiology — including primary and elective angioplasty — were added, and in 2017, the Cardiac Interventional Center (CIC) at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton was established.

Of the Heart and Vascular Center, Jones says, “We recognized that there has been a great deal of growth in the Cardiology Department. Recent growth has enabled the department to offer pre- and post-cardiovascular procedures, which required additional staff and additional training needed to establish three call teams for the Cardiac Cath Lab.”

As a result of this growth in services and staffing, Jones and the Cardiology Governance Committee, which includes members of senior leadership and cardiology medical directors, conducted extensive research to ascertain how these services were structured at other UMMS facilities. After review, the Heart and Vascular Center was established to provide a more standardized structure for the delivery of comprehensive heart and vascular services.

Photo: From left are several Heart and Vascular Center team members, including Dr. Gabriel Sardi; Joyce Collier, nurse and Cath Lab manager; Tina Blalock, nurse and clinical nurse coordinator; Dr. Jeffrey Etherton; Heart and Vascular Center Director Gary Jones; Vicki Roe, nurse; Anne Marie Conteh, registered cardiovascular invasive specialist; Dr. Benjamin Remo; Dr. Timothy Shanahan; and Vanessa Gore, nurse.

Heart and Vascular Center offerings include Cardiac Cath Lab procedures such as cardiac electrophysiology to treat patients whose heart rhythms need correction, including installing device implants such as pacemakers and defibrillators that help regulate arrhythmias, and diagnostic catheterization, which can assess the presence of blocked heart vessels or arteries.  The Cath Lab also offers percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, formerly referred to as angioplasty with stent), which is used to treat coronary artery disease.

Also included under the Heart and Vascular Center umbrella are UM Shore Medical Group-Cardiology, cardiovascular diagnostics, vascular laboratories at UM Shore Medical Centers at Chestertown, Dorchester and Easton, five diagnostic centers and Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation at all three hospitals.

“The Heart and Vascular Center aligns with where we are headed in the future, which will include an increase in vascular services offerings for our communities as well as continuing to provide life-saving emergency cardiac care services to our five-county region,” Jones says. “Our patients have convenient access to very comprehensive cardiovascular care, close to home.”

Jones says establishment of the Heart and Vascular Center would not have been possible without the support of Shore Regional Health’s medical staff, board of directors, senior leadership, Department of Nursing and critical care units, departmental leadership and also a strong working relationship with the five-county Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region IV emergency service agencies.

The UM Memorial Hospital Foundation recently announced an annual year-end appeal goal of $200,000 for the purchase of a new cardiac ultrasound machine and two other pieces of equipment for the Heart and Vascular Center at UM SRH.

The ultrasound machine, the GE E90, is a state-of-the-art non-invasive technology that will help physicians examine the heart’s chambers, walls, valves and vessels by using breakthrough software to enhance image quality, gain reproducible results and enhance workflows. To make a donation, please visit ummhfoundation.org/19yeappeal or mail your check to UM Memorial Hospital Foundation, 219 S. Washington St., Easton, MD 21601.

Eleven providers are affiliated with the Heart and Vascular Center at UM SRH, including: Drs. Jeffrey Etherton, S. Robert Hanna Jr., R. Bruce Helmly Jr., John Condit Jr., M. Christadoss Rajasingh, Benjamin Remo, Gabriel Sardi, Timothy Shanahan and Ivan Pena; and nurse practitioners Patricia Lancaster and Clare Ross.

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.

Five members of the UM Shore Medical Group – Neurosurgery team will fly to Honduras in January 2020 to work with One World Surgery to perform 30 life-changing neurosurgical procedures at the Holy Family Surgery Center in Honduras.  Team members participating in the mission to Honduras include: Khalid H. Kurtom, MD, FAANS, FACS, Wendy S. Towers, CRNP, first assist, Tyler Gogoll, RN, neurosurgical team lead, Thomas Busch, RN, surgical nurse and Robert Brault, surgical technologist. Surgical equipment specialist Steve Lykudis will also travel with the team.

The purpose of the week-long medical mission is to provide minimally invasive neurosurgical procedures to Honduras residents who would otherwise not have access to quality surgical care. The team will use minimally invasive procedures to treat certain types of spinal conditions including degenerative or herniated disc disorders, lumbar spinal stenosis, instability of the spine and compression fractures of the spine.

In 2017, neurosurgery team members led by Dr. Kurtom traveled to Amman, Jordan to perform life-changing surgeries at the Istishari Hospital on patients who were suffering from a range of debilitating conditions, including injuries related to the conflict in Syria, advanced and untreated spinal disease, and previous unsuccessful surgeries.

“Here, we are all fortunate to have the health care resources we do and sometimes it is easy to take that for granted — most places in the world have limited access to advanced health care, and most have no access to neurosurgical care,” says Dr. Kurtom. “Traveling on a mission to one of those places in dire need and providing neurosurgical care is considered a miracle for the people we help.  As with our prior mission trip where we helped Syrian refugees in Jordan, our trip to Honduras will be life altering to those we help — and to our team it will be spiritually rewarding.”

The anticipated total cost of the medical mission trip to Honduras is $40,000 and fundraising efforts are now in progress to raise $20,000 to help defray the costs of the trip. Non-tax deductible donations can be made to Chesapeake Neurological Surgery, Inc., 4346 Southside Lane, Trappe, MD 21673.

“Nothing can describe the sense of personal reward that I and my team members gain by doing these mission trips,” says Dr. Kurtom, who is now reviewing the Honduran surgical cases in anticipation of the trip. “We hope our mission will inspire all to give of themselves for the benefit of others.”

For more information, contact Dr. Kurtom, cnseaston@gmail.com

The Dorchester General Hospital Auxiliary held its general meeting and annual awards luncheon on November 12, 2019. The event celebrated a total of 13,265 hours contributed to the Auxiliary and its programs that benefit UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester.

Members of the Auxiliary recognized for achieving service milestones are:

• For 250 Hours: Halyna Pagano and Chris Paisley
• For 500 hours: Michelle Mitchell and Clara Mae Stephens
• For 250 and 500 hours: Fran Strohmer
• For 1000 hours: Becki Herbert, Suzette Stitely and Peggy Warner
• For 2000 hours: Patti Blankley, Joy Loeffler and Barbara Weiss
• For 3000 hours: Lucy Phillips and Laura Schultz
• For 7000 hours: Nancy Duvall and Mildred Lewis
• For 8000 hours: Barbara Lipe

Becki Herbert was also honored as Robin Hood Shop’s “Volunteer of the Year” for the work that she does for the Robin Hood Shop and the Dorchester General Hospital Auxiliary Board of Directors.

“Becki comes in whenever she gets the call from The Robin Hood Shop that we are short on volunteers, need help in the back of the shop, or just simply answers the phone for help,” says Catherine Gullion, manager of the Robin Hood Shop. “She has stepped up in several ways and we can rely on her as a go-to-person for us to bounce ideas.”

Photo: Shown at the Dorchester General Hospital Auxiliary annual awards luncheon are UM SMC at Dorchester executive director Penny Pink (fourth from left) and Auxiliary members honored for achieving service milestones: Lucy Phillips, Michelle Mitchell, Barbara Weiss, Nancy Duvall (Dorchester Auxiliary president), Barbara Lipe, Fran Strohmer, Suzette Stitely, Clara Mae Stephens, Laura Schultz, Halyna Pagano, Becki Herbert, Patti Blankley and Joy Loeffler (Auxiliary 2nd vice President. 

“The Auxiliary continues to be a strong force in the advancement of health care for Dorchester County residents through the hard work of its volunteers,” says Penny Pink, executive director, UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester. “Through the Robin Hood Shop and the Hospital Gift Shop, they raise funds that help purchase equipment and advanced health care technology, which directly benefits patient care.”

The Dorchester General Hospital Auxiliary raises funds to support programs, services, equipment and patient care at UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester. Fundraising efforts include sales from the Robin Hood Shop, located at 416 High Street in Cambridge, and the Hospitality Shop, located on the first floor of the hospital. To learn more about volunteer opportunities with the Auxiliary or additional ways to support the organization, call 410-228-0091.

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.

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health joins The Living Legacy Foundation (The LLF) in dedicating a rose for the 2020 Donate Life Rose Parade Float to honor the patients and their families who have given the gifts of life and hope as organ, eye, or tissue donors. The rose dedicated by UM SRH President and CEO Ken Kozel will accompany several others dedicated by The LLF as part of the Donate Life Float in the 2020 Tournament of Roses® Rose Bowl Parade. The parade will take place in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year’s Day with the theme “Light in the Darkness.”

Rose dedications enable hospitals to express their support and gratitude for those who have given the gift of life and also thank their staff, who make that gift possible by facilitating organ donations. The float will highlight the power of unity, light and love through organ, eye and tissue donation, and the many lives touched by donation. As the world’s most visible campaign to inspire organ, eye and tissue donation, The Donate Life Rose Parade® float inspires viewers to help the more than one million people nationally who are in need of organ, eye or tissue transplants each year.

UM SRH is passionate about saving lives. Each April, National Donate Life Month, the health care system joins The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland in honoring patients and families who made the gift of life possible for others through eye, organ and tissue donation.

During the past 30 years, UM Shore Regional Health has facilitated 40 organ donations and 133 tissue donations.

Additionally, hospital staff in Cambridge, Chestertown and Easton all honor organ donors and their families through “Walks of Respect” and a unique local program, Quilts of Honor, which provides special quilts, created and donated by local quilting guild, Peggy’s Quilters, as gifts to families of organ donors.

A moving tribute that a patient’s family may elect, the Walk of Respect is provides honor and gratitude to a donor as he or she is making the final journey in the hospital. Hospital staff members line up to show their silent respect for a difficult decision as the patient passes by on the way to the operating room.

“It is a very moving reminder of our mission, purpose and calling,” Kozel says. “I am so moved by the power of what I witness during these Walks of Respect — the compassion, care, respect and the shared bonds between the patient, family and staff.”

The Quilts of Honor program began as an idea in fall 2018 and was implemented early this past spring by Shore Regional Health senior leadership and Peggy’s Quilters, a quilting group from Centreville that provided SRH with 12 quilts to give to organ donor patients and families in 2019.

Owned by Peggy Patterson, Peggy’s Quilters, a group of about 20 women who get together once a month to quilt at Peggy’s Quilting Center in Centreville. The group makes quilts and pillowcases for a number of charitable organizations, including those that provide health care to veterans in military hospitals. They also provide blankets for children in local hospitals through Project Linus, pillowcases filled with needed items for families who have lost their homes to fire or have been victims of crime, blankets for hospice patients and quilts for patients undergoing treatment at the Cancer Center in Easton.

“Giving and charity is a big part of what quilters do,” says Shirley Seward, a member of Peggy’s Quilters member and family nurse practitioner with UM Shore Medical Group-Primary Care at Easton.. “Taking care of others and ‘wrapping around’ someone in need is important to us. When we found out about the Walk of Respect, we jumped at the chance to be a part of this unique tribute through the Quilts of Honor program.”

“We have been touched to see the beautiful work Peggy’s Quilters have done for those patients and families who have chosen to be organ donors at the end of life, helping others to have a second chance at life,” Kozel says. “Peggy’s Quilters has enabled us to provide a very tangible gift in memory and honor of a patient, which helps us share our gratitude and support with the family.”

The Living Legacy Foundation collaborates and facilitates donation and transplantation in area hospitals, provides support to donor families and educates Marylanders about the life-saving power of donation.

“Local donors save local lives,” Kozel says. “In Maryland, there are 3,353 people on the transplant waiting list. A single organ donor can save up to eight people and a single tissue donor may enhance the lives of up to 75 people. Of the 170,000 people we serve in our five-county community, an amazing 92,688 are registered as eye, organ and tissue donors. That’s just incredible. ”

“At Shore Regional Health, we are committed to patients from birth to death, and also to those who make the renewal of life possible for others,” Kozel says. “We support and stand behind the families and loved ones of these patients who have selflessly donated life so that others may have a second chance at it.”

Now in its 17th year, the Donate Life Rose Parade Float is the centerpiece of a national effort to reach a broad audience with the simple, life-giving message that organ, eye and tissue donation saves and heals lives. Nationally, 113, 222 people are in need of a life-saving transplant. Register today to become an organ, eye or tissue donor by visiting DonateLife.net.

The Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital at Easton celebrated service milestones of many of its members on Thursday, October 17, at their annual luncheon at the Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford.

At the luncheon, UM Shore Regional Health President and CEO Ken Kozel thanked Auxiliary members for their countless hours and generous support for UM SRH initiatives and provided an update on the health care network’s accomplishments during the past year. Keith McMahan, chairman, UM SRH Board of Directors, was introduced and expressed his admiration for Auxiliary and its support for UM Shore Medical Center at Easton, the Cancer Center at UM Shore Regional Health and UM Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown. Graham Lee, vice president, Philanthropy, thanked the Auxiliary members for providing two event sponsorships during 2019, $10,000 for the Fourth Annual Clay Shoot at Pintail Point benefiting the Clark Comprehensive Breast Center and $25,000 for the Annual UM SRH Golf Tournament benefiting Surgical Services at the hospital. Auxiliary President Liz Hannegan provided a review of the Auxiliary’s highlights in 2019, including the adoption of the organization’s new blue uniforms and the renovation of Maggie’s Gift Shop in the hospital.

Patti Willis, senior vice president, Strategy and Communications, announced the Auxiliary members honored for passing service milestones this year. They are:

For 100 Hours: Peggy Carusso, Bonnie Foxwell, Donald Goodliffe, Mark Greene, Beverly Hahn, Frances Mason, Merry McNeil, Marie Mueller, Joyce Mumaw, Nancy O’Connor, Sharon Ostrye, Ruth Renkenberger, Jim Robertson and Cressy Spence

For 250 Hours: Jane Ernst, Pepper Holmes, Midge Kroll, Jack Lane, Gabrielle May, Krishan Patel. Cornelius Potter, Barbara Shearer, Frederica Shirey, Judy Smith, Barbara Watters and Edward Wildasin

For 500 Hours: Karen Collins, Antoinette Cooper, Gloria Douma, Jane Holly, Kathy Hotz, Kirstie Kingston and Elaine Rippel

For 750 Hours: Diane Daffin, Richard Hill, Sherry Spencer and Mary Young

For 1000 Hours: Barbara Gardella, JoAnn Martin, Phyllis Matthai, Ronald Weber, Penny Womack and Mike Scheidt

For 1500 Hours: Judith Coffren, Thomas Cronshaw, Pauline Figliozzi, Virginia Ann Harvey, Jean Hobbs, Cecelia Laufert, Janet Pfeffer and Susan Silver

For 2000 Hours: Robert Savoie and Gervois Wooters

For 3000 Hours: William Hough and Emilie Joshi

For 4500 Hours: Doralice Cassidy and Liz Hannegan

For 4000 Hours: Nancy Espenhorst and Margaret Green

For 5000 Hours: Regina Holland and William Jenkins

For 5500 Hours: Anita Rowan

For 6000 Hours: Art Cecil

For 6500 Hours: Barbara Brown, Janet Granger and Bertha B. Wilson

For 8000 Hours: Carolyn Behr and Joyce Kent

For 9500 Hours: Gail Jenkins and Neal O’Shea

For 11,000 Hours: Terry Stephan

For 11,500 Hours: Debbie Hayes

For 12,500 Hours: Elva Pierce

For 15,500 Hours: Joe Shultz

For 16,500 Hours: Margaret Blair

For 21,500 Hours: Pauline Lane

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.

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health recognized the loyalty, dedication and service of 367 team members at the annual service recognition lunch and dinner celebrations, held October 10 and 11, 2019 at The Milestone in Easton.

Team members who had reached their 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th and 45th years of service, along with those who had retired during the past year, were honored at the dinner event on October 10, while those celebrating their 10th and 15th years attended the luncheon on October 11. All told, this year’s honored team members represented more than 4,250 years of service to UM Shore Regional Health.

“Shore Regional Health is indeed fortunate to enjoy such loyal dedication from its team members,” says Ken Kozel, UM SRH president and CEO. “Nationally,the mean tenure in a health care position is just four years and the average annual turnover rate in hospitals is estimated at 19.1 percent. I am both grateful and proud that in non-clinical as well as clinical areas, our turnover rate is much lower, around 13 percent, and that so many Shore Regional Health team members at all levels choose to be part of the ongoing care we provide our families, friends and neighbors.”

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.

To promote early detection of prostate cancer and honor Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, the Cancer Program at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) scheduled free screenings in Chestertown and Easton during September. UM Shore Medical Group – Urology physicians Christopher Parry, MD, provided free screenings during a September 23 event held at Mt. Olive AME Church in Chestertown, which was part of a partnership with the Kent County Health Department, and R. Duane Cespedes, MD, John Foley, MD, Andrew Riggin, MD, and Christopher Runz, DO, provided free screenings during a September 24 event at UM Shore Medical Group – Urology in Easton.

Photo: Volunteers during the evening event included Irene Cancio, Walter Chase, Walter Black, Teresa Green, Russet Jackson, Otis Sampson, Jerry Newnam, Suzanne Carley, Vernette Seward, Chanelle Lake, Leigh Mingos, Sylvia Potter, Charles Warner, Trish Pinhero, Faith Brown, Chanelle Lake, David Henry, Margot Spies, Roland Jones, Kevin Johnson, Childlene Brooks and Whitney Anders.

The free screenings, which included Spanish language translation services, attracted 57 participants. Volunteers assisted with greeting, directing and registering patients, and included Irene Cancio, Walter Chase, Walter Black, Teresa Green, Russet Jackson, Otis Sampson, Jerry Newnam, Suzanne Carley, Vernette Seward, Chanelle Lake, Leigh Mingos, Sylvia Potter, Charles Warner, Trish Pinhero, Faith Brown, Chanelle Lake, David Henry, Margot Spies, Roland Jones, Kevin Johnson, Childlene Brooks and Whitney Anders.

Prostate cancer screening does not end with September. Those interested in being screened are encouraged to discuss the testing with their primary care providers to determine if a blood test will benefit them in the early detection of prostate cancer and other prostate health issues.

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.