UM Upper Chesapeake Health Ribbon-Cutting Celebration Held Today for UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center Aberdeen

New, state-of-the-art Medical Center, Emergency Department and Behavioral Health Pavilion will open February 6.

ABERDEEN, Md. – Joined by county and state leaders, the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health (UM UCH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), today held a ribbon-cutting celebration for UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center Aberdeen, a project eight years in the making which will transform health care delivery in Harford County. The Aberdeen campus, located next to Target on the Aberdeen Thruway (MD Route 22), includes an Emergency Department and a Behavioral Heath Pavilion and will open for patients on February 6 at 7 am.

"The medical center in Aberdeen transforms and advances health care in our community. Our full-service Emergency Department and Behavioral Health Pavilion will provide access to high-quality care from our expert and compassionate doctors, nurses and staff along with the latest technology, in a healing environment," said Elizabeth Wise, FACHE, MSN, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of UM UCH. "We are so looking forward to February 6 when the Aberdeen campus will open to the community."

The 130,000-square-foot UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center Aberdeen facility includes a state-of-the-art Emergency Department and observation care area, a helipad for transfers to University of Maryland Medical Center for patients who need critical advanced care and a Behavioral Health Pavilion providing both inpatient and outpatient care.

UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center Aberdeen features include a modern telehealth system in each patient room for better monitoring and specialty care consultation; select Emergency Department rooms designed to geriatric standards with padded floors, larger fonts on signs, warm colors, brighter lighting and located directly adjacent to the nurses' station; exterior courtyards for each behavioral health 'neighborhood'; large conference rooms available for community use; and LED lighting with automatic dimming controls.

The medical campus also includes a 93,000-square foot Health and Wellness Center which opened in late 2023 offering a range of clinical services including primary care, endocrinology and diabetes care, cardiology, hematology and oncology, infusion services, wound care, orthopedics, physical therapy and rehabilitation. Imaging and lab services will be added in February 2024.

"Today marks a pivotal moment for the University of Maryland Medical System, reflecting our commitment to excellence and shaping the future of health care delivery. This multi-phase project signifies the beginning of a transformative journey, dedicated to bringing convenience, centralized care and services benefiting the community for generations", said Mohan Suntha, MD, President and CEO of UMMS.

"The University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health is a strong community partner, and the opening of its Aberdeen medical center is an exciting development in health care in Harford County," Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly said. "This modern facility with advanced technology and staffed by caring professionals is what our residents need and deserve."

In addition to Wise, speakers at today's celebration included:

• Dr. Mohan Suntha
• Bryan Kelly – Chair of the UM UCH Board of Directors
• Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly
• Fermin Barrueto, MD, MBA – Senior Vice President/Chief Clinical Officer, UM UCH
• Richard Lewis, MD – Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Regional Medical Director, Behavioral Health Services, UM UCH

Community members can sign up for tours of the new campus being held on January 12, 19 and 26. The tours will be led by members of the UM Upper Chesapeake Health leadership team and should be reserved in advance by visiting umuch.org/aberdeentours.

About University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health

University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, part of the University of Maryland Medical System, includes the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center and the Patricia D. and M. Scot Kaufman Cancer Center on its Bel Air campus. The Klein Family Center in Bel Air offers services for behavioral health. The Senator Bob Hooper House in Forest Hill is an assisted living facility that specializes in hospice. The University of Maryland Harford Memorial Hospital is located in Havre de Grace and will close when University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center Aberdeen opens on February 6. The leading health care system and the second largest private employer in Harford County, UM Upper Chesapeake Health offers a broad range of health care services, specialty care, technology and facilities to the residents of northeastern Maryland. Visit www.umms.org/uch for more information.

About 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.