UM Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System, has earned re-designation as a Magnet® organization from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program® distinguishes health care organizations that meet rigorous standards for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. The coveted recognition is the highest national honor for professional nursing practice and requires re-designation every four years.

The 2024 Magnet® designation includes Shore Regional Health at Cambridge, Shore Medical Centers at Chestertown and Easton, Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown, and UM Shore Medical Group medical practices. This year’s re-designation marks the hospital system’s 4th consecutive Magnet® designation. UM SRH received its first designation in 2009 for UM Shore Medical Centers at Easton and Cambridge.

Achieved by less than 10% of all registered hospitals in the U.S., Magnet® recognition is the ultimate distinction for high quality nursing care. At present, UM SRH is one of only 9 health organizations in Maryland, including both campuses of the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore, that are Magnet® designated.

Surrounded by UM SRH team members both virtually and in-person, Jenny Bowie, Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care Services, received the news from ANCC officials via a videoconference held in the Board room of UM Shore Medical Center at Easton.

 “Sustaining a Magnet® culture to reach a fourth consecutive Magnet® designation is a testament to the dedication and commitment of this organization to provide quality, compassionate care while striving for excellence,” said Bowie. “I am immensely proud of the entire Shore Regional Health team.”

UM Shore Regional Health’s Magnet® re-designation process included an extensive application and documentation process, followed in early March 2024 by a three-day visit to all sites conducted by a team of appraisers from ANCC.

“Over the three-day site visit, the Magnet® appraisers heard first-hand from the SRH team the countless ways SRH makes a difference,” said Kathy Elliott, Director of Professional Nursing Practice/Magnet® program. “Every encounter with the appraisers validated what they had read in the application document.”

More information about the American Nurse Credentialing Center’s Magnet® Program may be found at nursingworld.org/organizational-programs/magnet.

University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown was recently named in Becker’s Hospital Review as one of “27 Critical Access Hospitals to Know.” The Becker’s listing noted that the Chestertown hospital is the first in the state to receive a Maryland Rural Hospital designation, thanks to its geriatric emergency department accreditation, its designation as an Age Friendly Health System, and its membership in Healthy People 2030. Also cited were the hospital’s Shore Community Outreach Team, its free community health education classes, and its new remote patient monitoring program, which gives medical providers access to patients’ daily health data to help them maintain their best health at home.

About the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 healthcare providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity, and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore. 

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 the University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future healthcare 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.

Salisbury resident Kerri Madero had a bad feeling when she and her partner, Lindsay Tortorella, left for the hospital on the morning of January 11, 2024, for a routine birth induction at the Birthing Center at University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton. Tortorella hoped that Madero’s apprehension was due to anxiety or fear, and tried to think positively about the imminent birth of the couple’s first child. 

On their way to the hospital, neither had any idea just how right Madero’s initial feeling was, or that a clinical team from University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), would employ a state-of-the-art medical device that would save her life in the next 24 hours.

Madero’s prenatal care was provided by UM Shore Medical Group-Women’s Health at Easton (UM SMG). During a routine appointment on January 9, when Madero was nearly 39 weeks along, Audrey Drummey, MD, expressed concern about her high blood pressure. Concerns about gestational hypertension led to Madero being quickly scheduled for an induction two days later.

Madero and Tortorella arrived at the Birthing Center for the induction on January 11, and at 11:25 p.m. the following evening, UM Shore Medical Group certified nurse midwife Sunny Granger, CNM, helped the couple welcome their daughter, Koda, to the world at a healthy 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and 20 inches long. 

What came next was a nightmare the new family never thought they would experience. “It was such a beautiful moment, and then it crumbled,” Tortorella said. 

Following the birth, Madero’s bleeding did not subside as expected, and when bleeding worsened in frequency and heaviness, the situation was deemed an obstetric emergency. The UM SMG-Women’s Health provider and surgeon on call was OB/GYN Palak Doshi, DO, who rushed to assess Madero’s bleeding and quickly determined that surgery was needed. 

“I remember hearing ‘Code White, Room 570’ over the loud speaker and realizing that was our room; that was me,” Madero said. “The bleeding wasn’t stopping, and though I was aware of that, I wasn’t really aware of the severity of the situation until the code was called.”

At 12:30 a.m., Madero was on her way to the operating room, with Dr. Doshi and a team of nurses by her side.

“Sunny (Madero’s midwife) never left my side until I was wheeled out of the room,” Madero said. “I remember, I was scared to close my eyes because I was floating in and out of consciousness and I thought if I closed them, I wouldn’t open them again. But Dr. Doshi made me feel so comforted in a time that was terrifying for me, to say the least. She was a true angel, and I am thankful she was there. She held my hand and gave me the emotional support I needed at that time. I cried to her, ‘Please don’t let me die.’ And I recall her saying, ‘I’m not going to let you die’ and she held my hand until the anesthesia put me to sleep.”

Granger said the patient experienced partial placenta accreta, which means the placenta did not detach as expected after giving birth, which led to excessive bleeding.

“After surgery, Dr. Doshi explained to me that in addition to stopping the bleeding, they had given me 5 units of blood, 3 units of plasma and 3 bags of fluid, and that I had lost more than 3,000 milliliters of blood, which is well over half of the volume in a person’s body,” Madero said. “I realized the gravity of the situation and how poorly the outcome could have been without the quick actions of my clinical team — the nurses, Sunny and Dr. Doshi.”

How did Dr. Doshi and the surgical team stop Madero’s bleeding?

“Abnormal postpartum uterine bleeding occurs fairly commonly after birth, with an incidence of two to four percent of vaginal deliveries and six percent of cesarean deliveries complicated by postpartum hemorrhage. It can quickly become an obstetric emergency,” said Javier Cajina, MD, Chair of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at UM Shore Regional Health. “Postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality, accounting for 11 percent of maternal deaths due to obstetric complications, so there’s a critical need for effective and easy to use treatment options. That’s where the JADA System comes in.”

The JADA System is a hemorrhage control device that provides rapid and effective treatment for abnormal postpartum uterine bleeding and postpartum hemorrhage.

Dr. Cajina was a key advocate for the introduction of the JADA System to the Birthing Center and in 2021, UM SRH became the first affiliate hospital within UMMS to add this technology.

“It’s been a definite game-changer when it comes to our management of postpartum hemorrhage,” Dr. Cajina said. “JADA increases the speed and effectiveness in our treatment of this potentially catastrophic condition. Many of our obstetric patients have benefited from this novel device and our obstetrical providers’ quick decision-making in utilizing it to its full potential.”

“I can’t even begin to say how grateful I am that UM Shore Regional Health has the JADA System,” Madero said. “If this device were not available, I could have died or would have had to undergo a complete hysterectomy to stop the bleeding.”

Instead, the new mother’s recovery time was quick. 

“It was a complete miracle. I was up and walking 12 hours later,” Madero said. “Without this device, I may not have been able to see Koda, Lindsay or my older daughter, Gia, again. And also, because I didn’t have to have a full hysterectomy, we can look forward to having another baby someday.”

“Because we live in Salisbury, we traveled an hour each way to every (prenatal) appointment at UM Shore Medical Group-Women’s Health, and knew we wanted to deliver at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton,” Madero said. “Easton provides such a high standard of care. It was absolutely worth the drive.”

“We are eternally grateful that we chose to go with the inconvenience of a longer travel time for quality health care,” Tortorella said.

About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore. 

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.

The University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System, observes National Donate Life Month in April, honoring organ donors and bringing awareness to saving or enhancing lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation. 

Activities were kicked-off on April 4 at the annual Donate Life flag-raising ceremony at the entrance of University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton. After a prayer offered by the Rev. George Wheatley Sr., of Cambridge, Md., LuAnn Brady, UM SRH Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, discussed the meaning of organ donation and expressed gratitude to patients and families who have given the gift of life.

“These most sacred gifts change lives,” Brady said. “In Maryland, there are more than 2,000 people currently on the national transplant waiting list. One organ donor can save up to eight people and one tissue donor can heal the lives of up to 75 people.”

Karen Kennedy, Infinite Legacy’s Vice President of External Affairs and Education, expressed gratitude to donor families and to UM SRH, after which John Burke, father of an organ donor, shared his story of loss and hope when his son saved lives as an organ donor.

In partnership with Infinite Legacy, a non-profit organization that facilitates donation in area hospitals, UM SRH facilitated one organ donor in 2023, who donated six organs to five recipients, as well as 26 tissue donations, improving the lives of up to 2,000 patients. During the past 30 years, UM SRH has facilitated over 40 organ donations and over 150 tissue donations.

“Thanks to the generosity of donors and their families, and the dedication of health care and transplant professionals, thousands of lives are saved through organ and tissue donation,” said Chris Wright, Hospital Donation Coordinator, Infinite Legacy. “Our donor families are comforted in knowing that, even in death, their loved one is helping others.”

“At Shore Regional Health, we are committed to caring for patients from birth to death, and also for those who make the renewal of life possible for others,” said Ken Kozel, President and CEO, UM SRH. “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.”

To register as an organ donor, visit a Maryland Vehicle Administration office or visit Infinite Legacy at infinitelegacy.org. 

About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore. 

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.

A major renovation project recently completed in one of UM Shore Regional Health’s two cardiac catheterization labs has facilitated state-of-the-art improvements in cardiac care provided at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton, which is an accredited Cardiac Intervention Center (CIC). UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS).

“The improvements in our cardiac catheterization lab are an investment in the heart health of our region,” said Ken Kozel, UM SRH President and CEO. “These renovations enable our highly skilled cardiology team to continue offering the outstanding cardiac care that our communities have come to expect from UM Shore Regional Health.”

The project, which began in October 2022, included upgrades to the catheterization lab’s fluoroscopy machine (which uses X-ray to allow providers to see within the vessels of the heart in real time in order to diagnose and treat various types of heart disease), repairs to the ductwork and ventilation system, painting, replacing the floors and upgrades to the control room. New technology included in the renovation reduces radiation emissions, which results in a safer work environment for physicians and cardiac catheterization lab team members.

The project represents a $2.5 million investment in the hospital’s continued CIC designation, first received in 2018 and up for renewal every five years. The hospital’s CIC was re-accredited in April 2023.

Each year, the UM SRH cardiology team performs more than 200 emergency percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) for patients experiencing a STEMI (ST-elevated myocardial infarction) heart attack. PCI is a non-surgical, minimally invasive procedure used to treat obstructive artery disease or blockages to restore and maintain blood supply to the heart. PCI can also be scheduled electively to treat non-emergent vessel blockage and cardiac disease.

“When UM Shore Regional Health built the cardiac catheterization laboratory in 2017, it immediately changed heart health care on the Eastern Shore,” said Jeffrey Etherton, MD, Medical Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, UM Shore Regional Health. “Since then, this program has helped to save approximately 1,000 lives with emergency treatment for heart attack victims. This newly upgraded lab means UM Shore Regional Health’s cath lab is the newest and most state-of-the-art lab in Maryland. What a gift to the community from UM SRH’s leadership and the University of Maryland Medical System.”

UM Shore Regional Health’s Laboratory at Roundtop, located at 6602 Church Hill Rd., Suite 450 in Chestertown, will reopen to patients on Monday, February 19 following a brief closure to focus on staffing and recruitment of additional phlebotomists and team members. The facility has also undergone several upgrades including new flooring and fresh paint since temporarily closing in November 2023.

“UM Shore Regional Health has been committed to reopening the laboratory by spring 2024 and has worked hard to ensure we were able to accomplish this well-ahead of our goal,” said Juliana Hospodor, Director, Laboratory Services, UM Shore Regional Health. “This is a promise of quality and consistency to our Kent County community.” UM Shore Regional Health is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.

Laboratory services are available at the Roundtop location from 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays and from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.

Patients with CareFirst, CIGNA and Priority Partners as their health insurance must use a non-hospital laboratory to complete lab work.

UM Shore Regional Health recently was notified that UM Shore Medical Center at Easton’s Primary Stroke Center received the 2023 Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award from the American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA) and is included in ASA’s Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. This is the eighth consecutive year that UM SRH’s Primary Stroke Center has received the Stroke Gold Plus award.

UM Shore Medical Center at Easton is a University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) facility; UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System. These achievements highlight UM SRH’s commitment to providing the most effective stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence and its dedication to prioritizing quality care for stroke patients.

“This is a significant achievement for any medical institution and shows that UM Shore Regional Health provides state-of-the-art, patient-centered stroke care for our communities,” said Rena Sukhdeo Singh, MD, Medical Director of the Primary Stroke Center. “We are honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for our dedication to helping patients have the best possible chance of survival and recovery following a stroke. Our exceptional team members and members of our emergency response teams throughout the region deserve recognition for these awards, including our Emergency Medical Service providers, our Emergency Department teams, our Stroke Coordinator Nicole Leonard, our entire Brain Attack Team, and the nurses on our neurology/telemetry unit.”

To honor team members and departments who play a key role in working with the Primary Stroke Center, members of the senior leadership team and other management delivered the good news and ice cream to several departments, including the Intensive Care Unit, and the Telemetry and Emergency Departments.

Stroke is among the top five causes of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the U.S. Each year, strokes take the lives of more than 130,000 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. UM Shore Regional Health provides stroke care to approximately 600 patients every year.

UM Shore Medical Center at Easton was designated as a Primary Stroke Center in 2007. A Primary Stroke Center designation is given by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) when standards are met to support better outcomes for stroke care. Certification standards include having a dedicated program staffed 24/7 by specially trained medical professionals who provide fast diagnostic services and optimal stroke care.

Additional information about the Primary Stroke Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton can be found at UMShoreRegional.org/stroke.