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October 25, 2021

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

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Md. Health Secretary Pushes Back as Senators Call for Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccines in Schools

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Senators continued to push Maryland Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader to exercise his authority to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for eligible school-age students Monday.

“I brought this up in the last briefing last month and you weren’t sure that you had the authority to do so and it sounds like this month, you’re still uncertain and not willing to explore that as a possibility,” Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Howard) said at a meeting of the Senate Vaccine Oversight Workgroup Monday. “I hope that next month you’ll be able to bring back some additional considerations as to how you can improve those rates in schools through a mandatory vaccination program in conjunction with [the Maryland State Department of Education].”

According to a presentation from the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability for the Department of Legislative Services, since school has been in session, the sharpest increase in COVID positivity rates in the state has been among children.

About 72% of children between 12 and 17 years old have received at least one shot.

Lam asked Schrader what is being done to encourage eligible minors to get vaccinated.

Schrader said that the Department of Health has “two tracks of priority:” getting booster shots in the arms of the state’s most vulnerable and tracking down the nearly one million eligible Marylanders who have yet to get vaccinated.

But Schrader also clearly demonstrated his disinterest in mandating COVID-19 vaccines for school-aged students.

Under Maryland’s education code, the Department of Health has the ability to issue regulations that require students to be inoculated to attend school.

“You do have the tool to be able to require vaccination of students going into schools,” said Lam. “Is that right, is that something that you’re looking at?”

Schrader responded “not at the moment.” He said there have been conversations about working with school systems to increase the vaccination rate in 12- to 17-year-olds but he wants to respect local school districts’ authority.

“We really need to rely on the schools to help us with this,” Schrader said. “They’re autonomous and we want to make sure we respect that autonomy in working with them.”

Lam, a physician, pushed back and said the state is falling short on protecting its kids.

“I am concerned about the spread of COVID in our schools and you have a tool that you can use as the secretary to require this to be required vaccination and students coming into our schools, but it sounds as though [the Department of Health] is not reaching for this tool or is not willing to do so,” he said.

Schrader said the health department’s focus now is increasing the rate for routine vaccinations in elementary school students.

“We want to make sure that those are taken care of, but we’ll go back and take a look at your suggestion,” he said.

After other senators pressed the health department to take more decisive action, Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s) grew frustrated and asked Schrader where the buck stops: with the State Department of Education or with the Department of Health?

“So, we have the adults pointing fingers at each other while the kids are suffering and the parents are suffering,” he said.

Rosapepe told Schrader that he should exercise the power he has to mandate the vaccine in schools.

But, “if for whatever political reason” he decides not to do that, Rosapepe suggested that the Department of Health “aggressively work with the school systems to identify in every school which kids have been vaccinated which kids haven’t been vaccinated” through the state’s ImmuNet vaccination record system and bring mobile vaccination units to those locations.

Rosapepe also proposed rating school systems like the Department of Health rates nursing homes based on their rates of vaccination.

“A couple of suggestions if you’re not willing to go with mandatory vaccinations,” he said.

By Hannah Gaskill

Spy COVID-19 Aug. 27 Update

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• The Maryland State Board of Education approved an in-school mask mandate for all public schools statewide. The emergency regulation must be approved by a state legislative committee; it will be in effect for 180 days if approved.

• The level of community transmission of COVID-19 is high for Maryland and high across the Eastern Shore. Health officials urge everyone, including those who are fully vaccinated, to wear masks while indoors.

• Kent County’s 7-day average positivity rate is 3.57% and its case rate is 10.30 cases per 100,000 population.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 492,547, an increase of 1,373 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, seven people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 9,748.

• The state’s average positivity rate is 4.92%,  up 0.03% from yesterday.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 711, down 9 from yesterday.

Spy COVID-19 Aug. 19 Update

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• The level of community transmission of COVID-19 is high for Maryland and high across most of the Mid-Shore. Health officials urge everyone, including those who are fully vaccinated, to wear masks while indoors.

• Maryland’s average positivity rate topped 5% for the first time since April 22.

• Kent County’s community transmission level is high, according to the county health department.

• Kent County’s 7-day average positivity rate is 7.2% and its case rate is 19.86 cases per 100,000 population.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 483,641, an increase of 1,060 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, nine people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 9,695.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 643, up 13 from yesterday.

COVID 19: Assessing Risks for Pregnant Mothers and Children with Choptank’s Dr. Adeline Melvin

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When Choptank Community Health’s Adeline Melvin talks about the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant mothers and children, she has more than her impressive  medical credentials to give her credibility on the subject. As a pregnant mother in 2020, she had to go through what many families are debating now; and that is  the sometimes torturous decision on whether or not to get the vaccine. She did.

So when Dr. Melvin says she believes the vaccine is safe for children and pregnant mothers, it should reassure hundreds of families that now is the time to get the shot.

That was just one of the topics the Spy chatted with Dr. Melvin at the Choptank’s Denton center as the Mid-Shore comes face to face with the Delta variant. She notes with alarm the increasing signs of its presence on the Eastern Shore, the uptick in patients and the number of new COVID positive results, just at a time when our five counties region was starting to believe we were reaching the finished line with the pandemic.

In. her Spy interview, Dr. Melvin makes a compelling case for following CDC guidelines which recommend that children aged 12 and over and pregnant women take the vaccine, by  sharing her own experience after getting the shot herself.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about Choptank Community Health please go here.

Editor note: The data that Dr. Melvin shares in our interview reflects information from August 16. Please click on Caroline County,  Dorchester County, Kent County, and Talbot County for the latest numbers. 

Md. Positivity Rate Tops 4%, 400+ Hospitalized, Case Rate Stays Above 10

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The state’s COVID-19 positivity rate has topped 4% since Aug. 7, with Monday’s 7-day average at 4.21%.  The positivity rate had been below 4% from April 27 through Friday.

The rate reached a low of 0.54% on June 8; the high of 26.88% was recorded on April 17, 2020.

On Monday, Maryland reported 400 patients hospitalized for COVID-19. The number of hospitalized patients had dropped below 400 on May 27 and hit a low of 97 on July 2. The high, on Jan. 12, was 1,952 patients.

The state’s case rate, the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population, has topped 10 since Aug. 5. That rate had been below 10 from May 8 until Aug. 4.

Maryland’s highest case rate — 53.39 — was recorded on Jan. 12, a low of 0.90 was reported on June 24 and 25. (The rate was at 0.80 and below from March 23 to March 25, 2020, the first three days that statistic was reported by the state.)

*New cases in last 24 hours.

The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Since Aug. 6, Kent County has reported five new COVID-19 cases. The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 5.31%.

• Maryland’s average positivity rate has been on an upward trend since July 13 and has been above 4% for three days.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 475,184, an increase of 629 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, seven people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 9,648.

• The number of patients currently hospitalized is 424, up 24 from yesterday.

Pandemic Alert: Kent County COVID Numbers Now Considered “Substantial”

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COVID-19 cases are rapidly increasing across the country, especially in areas with low vaccination. This week, the United States’ level of community transmission increased from substantial to high.  Unfortunately, the Kent County Health Department has learned that our county level of transmission has increased from moderate to substantial (a change to be reflected next week when the CDC is scheduled to update its COVID Data Tracker.)

This surge is being driven by Delta, a variant of the virus that causes COVID-19. Delta is much more contagious than past versions of the virus and spreads about two to four times as easily from one person to another. Since vaccinated individuals can still spread the Delta variant to others, the CDC recommends everyone over the age of 2 wear a mask indoors in public regardless of their vaccination status.

“The Kent County Health Department urges everyone to follow the CDC’s advice,” stated Health Officer, Bill Webb. “Wear your mask and get fully vaccinated if you haven’t already. Getting fully vaccinated is the best thing you can do to protect yourself and those around you. All vaccines are safe, effective, free, and readily available in Maryland.”

  • Wearing a mask is strongly recommended in all public indoor settings regardless of your vaccination status for ages 2+ while community transmission remains substantial or high. With the Delta variant, this is more urgent than ever.

  • Now is the time to get vaccinated. Appointments are available through the Kent County Health Department at kenthd.org or by calling 410-778-1350. You can also schedule through pharmacies, clinics, and other sites in Maryland by visiting  https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine,  texting your ZIP code to 438829, or calling 1-855-MD-GOVAX.

  • Everyone who has COVID-19 symptoms or who has been exposed should get tested. If you have been around someone with a confirmed case of COVID, get tested 3-5 days after exposure, even if you have no symptoms and/or you have already been vaccinated. Call the Kent County Health Department at 410-778-1350 to schedule a test or visit MD’s testing site locator.

Choptank Community Health receives William Donald Schaefer Helping People Award

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Choptank Community Health System has been recognized for its leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic with the Comptroller of Maryland’s 2020 William Donald Schaefer Helping People Award for Caroline County. Choptank Community Health received the recognition at a July 13 virtual presentation with Comptroller Peter Franchot.

The annual award recognizes individuals and organizations in each of the 23 counties and Baltimore City who best exemplify former Governor and Comptroller William Donald Schaefer’s unparalleled legacy of public service and selflessness, with awardees nominated by their peers.

Choptank Community Health CEO Sara Rich.

Choptank Health served as Caroline County’s primary testing center and was cited for the award as a valued partner in the battle to successfully contain the spread of COVID-19, while continuing to provide quality, integrated health care for residents in need.

“Choptank Health is a critical piece of the health care system,” says Choptank Community Health CEO Sara Rich. “We collaborate with hospitals, local and state governments, social, health, and business organizations in all our operations to improve health outcomes for medically vulnerable people.

Rich says Choptank Community Health’s mission of providing access to health care for all is at the heart of the nonprofit’s recent testing and vaccination clinics, where COVID-19 testing and vaccines were brought into our underserved, most at-risk communities through partnerships with local health and emergency response departments and other organizations.

Choptank Health worked with the Caroline County emergency operations center to actively share information and track the initial spread of COVID-19. They were the region’s first health care provider to offer drive-up and curbside COVID-19 testing for Choptank Health patients, and worked in partnership with County government and Caroline County Public Schools to provide community mass testing sites.

Choptank Health’s vaccination and testing outreach expanded into the region’s most hesitant and hard-to-reach communities, including those served by the Avalon Theatre’s Multi-Cultural Festival and through clinics with Dorchester County’s migrant seafood processing workers. Its outreach also brought vaccinations to other communities through events including those at Union United Methodist Church in St. Michaels, and Building African-American Minds in Easton, among others.

“We are grateful to work with Caroline County and all our partners throughout the pandemic,” said Choptank Community Health CEO Sara Rich. “We helped the County to develop detailed policies and response plans for things such as community-wide testing and how to handle exposures in vital government services like

Corrections, law enforcement, and EMS. We also expedited the delivery of health and safety guidance to our business community without having to wait for information from the CDC or State Department of Health.”

“Choptank Community Health truly embodies the qualities of service the William Donald Schaefer Helping People Award seeks to highlight,” said Caroline County Chief of Staff Sara Visintainer in her nomination of Choptank Health for the award. “The Choptank Health team dedicates every day to improving the communities in Caroline, Talbot, and Dorchester Counties. They provide high quality, affordable health and dental care to all. This is especially true for our most vulnerable populations because Choptank Health provides health and dental services regardless of a person’s ability to pay.”

Visintainer also said Choptank Health has created exceptionally valuable public-private partnerships with county governments, health departments, and school systems on the Mid-Shore to help better serve our communities.

Other Eastern Shore award recipients include Friends of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, St. Michaels Community Center’s Executive Director Emerita Trish Payne, Kent Center Chief Morale Officer Larry Wilson, Court Appointed Special Advocate and The Beauty of Being Black Founder Sharon Robinson, Crisfield Arts Syndicate’s Shawna Kearsley, Fenix Youth Project’s Amber Greene, and Jesse Klump Memorial Fund’s Kim Klump.

“These recipients have positively impacted the most vulnerable members of their communities by feeding the hungry, protecting our natural resources and redirecting children to healthier, more fulfilling lives, and so much more,” Comptroller Franchot said. “They are heroes dedicated to lifting up those who need a helping hand.”

Choptank Community Health is one of 17 health centers in Maryland serving more than 377,000 individuals, including those without insurance or an ability to pay. Health Centers serve more than 28 million people nationwide and provide affordable, high quality, comprehensive primary care to people from throughout the local communities, including those underserved and uninsured.

Choptank Community Health System provides medical, dental, pediatric, and behavioral health services in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot counties, with a vision is to improve the health and well-being of people in the communities served by providing outstanding care experiences while being an exceptional place to work and make a difference, with more at choptankhealth.org.

Qlarant Hosts Virtual Grant Awards Event

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Qlarant Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Qlarant, the nationally recognized program integrity and quality improvement company, has awarded financial grants to twenty Maryland and District of Columbia organizations. Members of the Board of Directors for Qlarant Foundation held a virtual reception for the 2021 Grant Awards.

Qlarant Foundation presented $412,500 to twenty non-profit organizations: Qlarant CEO Dr. Ron Forsythe, Jr. (left) and Qlarant Foundation Chair Dominic Szwaja (right)

For the second consecutive year, hosting a virtual reception for the grantees was chosen in place of an in-person gathering.

“Our annual awards ceremony is the most important event on our calendar each year,” said Dominic Szwaja, Board Chair for Qlarant Foundation. “The networking opportunity that our annual event provides is mentioned by our grantees as being one of the most meaningful parts of our grant program. Last year’s virtual event was extremely well received so this year we wanted to ensure that it met those expectations and improved upon them. Each organization had the opportunity to present the amazing work they do and become more familiar with regional organizations with similar missions.”

The 2021 grant recipients include 13 returning organizations: Bay Hundred Community Volunteers, Breast Care for Washington, D.C., Camp Attaway, Critical Repairs Caroline County, Eastern Shore Wellness Solutions, Girls in the Game, Grace Center for Maternal and Women’s Health, Helping Up Mission, Miriam’s Kitchen, Talbot County Empty Bowls, Ulman Foundation, University Legal Services Jail and Prison Advocacy Project, and University of Maryland Medical Center’s Breathmobile. Seven first time grantees this year include Bright Beginnings, Community Free Clinic, International Rescue Committee, NAMI Maryland, Talbot Interfaith Shelter, The House DC, and There Goes My Hero. Each of the grantee organizations are dedicated to providing health and human services to underserved populations. Representatives from each organization as well as Qlarant board members and associates attended the 90-minute event.

During the event, each of the organizations were highlighted in video segments (to be featured on Qlarant’s website and YouTube channel) and given the opportunity answer one of four questions designed to share knowledge and strategies amongst the pool of non-profit leaders.

“Each of our grantees this year are so vital in their communities,” said Molly Burgoyne-Brian, Qlarant Foundation Vice Chair. “We encouraged our grantees to share some of their best practices in a variety of related areas for the benefit of the group. Part of our goals at Qlarant is to positively impact the community and this event was designed to further that goal. We’ve now been able to give over $6 million dollars to organizations like these since 2006.”

About Qlarant Foundation

Qlarant Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Qlarant, a not-for-profit nationally respected leader in fighting fraud, waste & abuse, improving program quality, and optimizing performance. The organization was founded more than 45 years ago to improve health care and human services for all. Qlarant Foundation is focused on reinvesting in our people and resources to better support our clients’ missions. www.qlarant.com/foundation

Qlarant Foundation Awards $412,500 to Non-Profits in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

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Qlarant CEO Dr. Ron Forsythe, Jr. and Qlarant Foundation Chair Dominic Szwaja present the 2021 Grant Award totaling $412,500.

Qlarant Foundation, the mission arm of Qlarant, will provide grants totaling $412,500 to 20 community organizations that support underserved populations in Maryland and Washington, DC.

The Foundation reviewed applications from 79 highly-qualified organizations and ultimately selected eighteen organizations to receive grants and ranging from $10,000 to $40,000. In addition, they selected two organizations to receive smaller financial gifts to support short-term projects.

“Our grantee organizations are a special group, dedicated to improving the lives of extremely vulnerable people in their communities,” said Dominic Szwaja, Chair of the Qlarant Foundation Board of Directors.

“The efforts of these organizations reach people across a large geographic area and address both medical and social issues impacting their clients’ health.” Dr. Catherine Smoot-Haselnus, Chair of the Qlarant Board of Directors said, “As we experienced last year at the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 has intensified the needs of these organizations. We’re so pleased to be able to once again, have the opportunity to support programs that improve the health of individuals and communities in the region.”

Grantee organizations usually look forward to getting acquainted and sharing information about their programs during the annual Qlarant Foundation Grantee Awards event, which is normally held at Qlarant’s corporate headquarters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Recognizing the continuing need for social distancing, Qlarant will host a virtual reception on Wednesday, July 21st.

This year, Qlarant Foundation has funded these impactful programs:

Bay Hundred Community Volunteers—Constructs and installs aluminum modular wheelchair ramps to eliminate barriers to obtaining medical care for residents with functional disabilities and reduce isolation and loneliness.

Breast Care for Washington, DC—Provides access to lifesaving breast cancer screening services in medically underserved populations by removing barriers to these services. Screenings are provided to all women, regardless of their ability to pay, at both its fixed and mobile locations.

Bright Beginnings—Addresses family wellness and identifies mental health issues and developmental delays early so that children can develop with confidence and be ready for kindergarten. Services are dedicated exclusively to families experiencing homelessness.

Camp Attaway—Operates a therapeutic summer camp program for children who are at risk because of an inability to manage their emotions and behaviors. Also supports families by providing parent education and support groups conducted by a child psychologist.

Community Free Clinic—A safety net provider for uninsured Washington County residents. The majority of the patients suffer with chronic diseases tied to cardiovascular health. By providing health care at no cost to the medically uninsured, the clinic combats chronic disease, mental health, and other health issues while striving to make the community, as a whole, healthier and stronger.

Eastern Shore Wellness Solutions—A community health outreach worker program in Caroline and Dorchester counties designed to improve health care access and health status for marginalized and underserved residents.

Girls in the Game—An after-School program in Baltimore City for elementary and middle school girls addressing such issues as health, body image, bullying, personal safety, and diversity.

Grace Center for Maternal and Women’s Health—An expansion of Project H.O.P.E. (Holistic Opportunities for Prevention and Education) across the Delmarva Peninsula. The program focuses on providing critical assistance to moms and their children needed to address trauma, mental illness, and addiction.

Helping Up Mission—Provides access to health insurance services and an oral health care program for men and women experiencing substance use disorders, poverty, and homelessness in Baltimore City.

International Rescue Committee—Helps refugees and victims of human trafficking, whose lives and livelihoods have been shattered by conflict and disaster, to survive, recover, and gain control of their futures.

Miriam’s Kitchen—A social service program providing nutritious meals in a dining room setting for the homeless, with doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, social workers, and lawyers on location to break down barriers and improve access to care.

National Alliance on Mental Illness, Maryland—Strives to improve the quality-of-life for individuals with mental illness and their families across Maryland, including all socioeconomic, race, ethnic, gender, or other statuses.

Rebuilding Together, Caroline County—Makes critical home accessibility modifications and repairs of private homes for disabled clients. The work includes building ramps and bathroom accessibility remodeling.

Talbot County Empty Bowls—An independent, volunteer, grassroots organization raising funds that provide support to ten food pantries in Talbot County.

Talbot Interfaith Shelter—The S4 (Shelter-Stability-Support-Success) program provides temporary shelter, case management, educational programming, relapse prevention support, and access to mental health services and grief counseling to people facing homelessness on Maryland’s Mid-Shore.

The House DC—A neighborhood center providing high school students with a safe place to meet after school to participate in enriching activities.

There Goes My Hero—A program seeking to diversify the bone marrow donor registry so that it reflects the demographics of the United States at-large.

Ulman Foundation—A residential program for adolescent and young adult cancer patients and caregivers at the Ulman House, which reduces the financial burden of these patients and allows them greater access to high-quality care.

University Legal Services, Inc.—A jail and prison advocacy project advocating for access to health care, mental health care, and comprehensive reentry support for District of Columbia adults with psychiatric disabilities and co-occurring substance use disorders who have been recently incarcerated in DC and in Federal Bureau of Prison facilities.

University of Maryland Medical System Foundation, Inc.—The annual Goldgeier Award recipient for the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital Breathmobile Program, which provides free treatment and specialty-based preventive care to underserved children with asthma in Baltimore City.

About Qlarant Foundation

Qlarant Foundation, the mission arm of Qlarant, is a national not-for-profit organization that provides grants to charitable and not-for-profit organizations in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Grants are provided for projects that help improve the health care and human services for individuals and communities. Since 2006, Qlarant Foundation has awarded grants totaling $6 million to 87 organizations in Maryland and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.qlarant.com/foundation.

Compass Adds New Hospice Wing to Honor Mildred Barnette and Keep Mission Going

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For any Kent or Queen Anne’s County family who has lost a loved one, but was fortunate to have Compass hospice support at the end of that person’s life, there should be a certain degree of gratitude for Mildred Barnette.

While most of those who use Compass’s hospice care may not have a clue who Mildred is, they owe her a lot for her vision as the founding director of Compass Hospice for the loving, compassionate care of grandparents, parents, spouses, or children at their end of life.

Fortunately, one anonymous donor did know of Mildred Barnette’s remarkable contributions to the Mid-Shore community and quietly worked with current director Heather Guerieri to provide the leadership gift for the new wing of the Compass Centreville facility. And while the Compass board respects the privacy of this generous philanthropist, the staff and volunteers can’t hide how thrilled they are with the major $5 million addition.

The addition of five new patient bedrooms, family rooms, children’s space, and a commercial kitchen, are indeed major improvements but they are also essential to Compass’s commitment to Kent and Queen Anne’s community. While most of the Compass patients can use the organization’s services at home, Shore Regional Health Chestertown hospital, or in the soon-to-be-built facility in Caroline County, the Centreville home base is now able to take on far more of the region’s most serious of cases.

The Spy sat down with Heather a few weeks ago for a quick tour of the new wing and how the Barnette Center is a perfect way to honor Mildred’s important legacy of hospice care for the entire Mid-Shore.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about Compass please go here.