HSMP Updates

Lori Werrell, MPH, MCHES is the Assistant Vice President of Care Transformation for MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital (MSMH) and MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center (MSMHC). Lori assumed this new role in December of 2021, previously serving as the Regional Director of Population and Community Health for MSMH and MSMHC. Throughout her 30+ year career in healthcare, Lori has had the opportunity to be part of many grant-funded community health improvement initiatives, serving as the program director of the Greater Lexington Park Health Enterprise Zone (2013-2017), and currently serving as the Co-Principal Investigator for the PreventionLink program. During this presentation, Lori will provide an overview of HSMP and an update on the achievements and work of the action teams over the past year.

Advancing Equity and Resilience in the Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Monica Schoch-Spana, a medical anthropologist, is Senior Scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Senior Scientist with the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The COVID-19 pandemic—which has revealed deficiencies, for instance, in healthcare delivery, the social safety net, and workplace leave policies—represents an opportunity for visionary leadership, collective goal setting, and societal transformation. This talk will address how communities can seize the long-term recovery process as a moment to reshape themselves in ways that provide everyday benefit and protect against health disasters and their uneven effects.

American Heart Association Program Highlights

Chef Stephanie Rose joined The American Heart Association in February 2018. She was chosen to be the lead Chef and Manager of the build-out, opening, and operations of The Simple Cooking with Heart Kitchen in Baltimore, Maryland. When the kitchen closed due to the pandemic, Chef Rose was immediately able to aggregate her experience and launch virtual culinary experiences without missing a beat.

Rhonda Ford Chatmon is Vice President for Health Strategies for the Greater Baltimore/Maryland Region of the American Heart Association and works collaboratively with teams across the association to drive health equity and community transformation in diverse and under-resourced communities. In her role, Rhonda is responsible for implementation of the community-informed framework to make healthy opportunities accessible, affordable, and default for all Americans. This presentation will feature a virtual cooking class featuring Shakshuka with Chef Rose and provide more information about the American Heart Association’s programs including the Blood Pressure Cuff Program.

Reducing Gun Violence in our Communities

Erin C. Hall, MD, MPH, is an attending physician in Trauma and Critical Care at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC and serves as Medical Director of MedStar Washington Hospital Center-Community Violence Intervention Program. Dr. Hall is double-boarded in general surgery and surgical critical care. She has been working to apply the principles of public health to trauma and to expand the body of research on needs and long-term outcomes in this population. Dr. Hall’s presentation will focus on methods for reducing gun violence in communities.

Mapping Food Insecurity in Maryland

Jamie Harding, MS, is the Research Data Manager at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. In this position, Jamie has worked in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) field for over 20 years, working on a wide range of projects. He helped develop the Maryland Food System Map and also contributed to the Center’s Baltimore City Food Environment research.

Maryland may be the wealthiest state in the nation but many Marylanders still struggle with food insecurity and the situation has only gotten worse over the course of the pandemic. During this presentation, Jamie will highlight efforts to map and track food insecurity across the state.

Lexington Manor Passive Park Community Garden

Christina Bishop, MED, ADAC, CPRP is the Project Manager and Department ADA Coordinator for the St. Mary’s County Department of Recreation and Parks. In this role, Christi plans, develops, monitors, and supervises large and complex Department projects including the Lexington Manor Passive Park Community Garden. She also ensures all department services and facilities comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Taylor Smith, MSW, is the current Executive Director of St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation (CDC). She began working for St. Mary’s CDC in August 2020. Since her promotion to Executive Director in January, Taylor brought to fruition the CDC’s first annual cleanup effort to beautify Great Mills Road and increase togetherness, an event that hosted over 100 community volunteers and raised over $12,000.

Sue Veith, MS, is an Urban & Environmental Planner for the St. Mary’s County Department of Economic Development. In her role, Sue focuses on land preservation and efforts to maintain and improve quality of life in St. Mary’s County. She is a member of the Community Garden Advisory Board for which she refined the garden plans and developed a preliminary construction budget and is working to develop grant applications.

This presentation will provide more information on the Lexington Manor Passive Park and ways that community members and organizations can help move this project forward.

Panel Session: St. Mary’s County Health Hub

Moderator

Tammy Loewe, LCSW-C, is the Division Director of Behavioral Health at the St. Mary’s County Health Department. As Director, her responsibilities include providing system management for behavioral health services in our community which refers residents to local behavioral health resources; substance use prevention programs; and strategies to educate, reduce and prevent substance use, opioid misuse, and overdoses. The Division also manages state and federal government grant-funded behavioral health programs.

Panelists

Meenakshi Brewster, MD, MPH, serves as the Health Officer for St. Mary’s County and as the Co-Chair of the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership. As Health Officer, Dr. Brewster directs activities of the local health department and works with community partners to address population-level health issues in St. Mary’s County. She is a public health trained physician, and board certified in the clinical specialties of Family Medicine and Sports Medicine.

Timothy Cameron, MS, has been the Sheriff of St. Mary’s County since December of 2006. He is the only Sheriff in the county`s history to have served four terms in the 380 years of the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Cameron began his law enforcement career with the Sheriff’s Office in July 1980. During his extensive career, he was promoted through the ranks, serving in every division of the Sheriff’s Office.

James Scott Smith, EdD, has been the Superintendent of St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) since 2014. Dr. Smith has been with SMCPS for thirty-one years serving students and staff as an English teacher, assistant principal, principal, director, executive director, and assistant superintendent. In his role as Superintendent, Dr. Smith is responsible for all Divisions of the St. Mary’s County Public Schools educating 18,000 St. Mary’s County students.

This panel session will highlight the new St. Mary’s County Health Hub which is scheduled to open in September 2022 and some of the key partners who are integral to the planned services at this location.