News

As of October 1 2021, 98% of full and part-time clinical staff and over 96% of all team members at the University of Maryland Medical System are in full compliance with our mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirement, making UMMS the first large health system in the State to reach this important milestone. This represents significant progress and we are grateful for all the UMMS team members who have made the decision to get vaccinated. 

A poker game with friends at the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club was part of Tom Mendenhall's weekly routine. In early April 2021, he was enjoying the game until he tried to stand and discovered that he couldn't put any weight on his left leg. One of the group knew the symptoms of a stroke and directed Mendenhall to smile and then to raise his arms. Fortunately, the stroke had not impacted Mendenhall's speech or cognitive ability, but walking – even standing – was impossible. During his admission for acute care he was evaluated by physical and occupational therapists who recommended him for acute rehab.

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) today announced a new commitment to better serve the communities in which our team members live and work, with a new minimum wage of $15 per hour. This increase will result in approximately 1,500 employees, or five percent of the System's workforce, receiving a pay increase.

In observation of September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, the Cancer Program at UM Shore Regional Health and Shore Medical Group – Urology team members are sharing information about prostate cancer. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, about six cases in 10 are diagnosed in men aged 65 or older, and it is rare before age 40.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden earned his place in history protecting quarterbacks. Now, in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical System, the former offensive tackle says you don’t need a Super Bowl ring to watch your loved ones’ blind side.

Jeanette Jeffrey has joined the University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown as Health Educator on the hospital’s Rural Health Care Transformation Team.

The University of Maryland Shore Regional Health Sleep Disorders Center at UM Shore Medical Center in Easton recently received program reaccreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Both the Sleep Disorders Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester and at UM Shore Medical Pavilion at Queenstown also received program reaccreditation, in December 2020. All three programs have been reaccredited for five years.

University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown has launched a Community Advisory Council designed to bring community perspectives on existing and potentially new health services to the hospital and to the greater Kent County and northern Queen Anne's County region.

The University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown is taking a significant step in its plans to become a designated Age Friendly Health System with the addition of Katherine Selman, MD, to the hospital's Emergency Department. Dr. Selman comes to UM Shore Regional Health from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill where she completed a Geriatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship.

UM Shore Medical Group – Neurology and Sleep Medicine will welcome Rena Sukhdeo Singh, MD in August 2021. A board-certified neurologist, she will join M. Walid Kamsheh, MD; Rahel Alemu, CRNP; Fallon Bauer, PA-C; Trisha Lemay, CRNP; and Tatyana Valentin, CRNP, in the Easton-based practice.