A resident of Howard County, Mr. Kasemeyer has dedicated his life to public service. He began his political career in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1983, where he served on the Economic Matters Committee. Mr. Kasemeyer later ran for Maryland State Senate, where he served for a number of years, including serving as Chairman of the Budget & Taxation Committee from 2011 to 2019.

During his tenure in the Maryland Senate, Mr. Kasemeyer served on Joint Legislative Committees focusing on Health Care Delivery and Financing as well as Universal Access to Quality and Affordable Health Care in Maryland. Senator Kasemeyer has earned numerous accolades from community organizations across the State, including Legislator of the Year from the Mental Health Association of Maryland.  Mr. Kasemeyer is highly respected by his fellow elected officials and in the words of one of his former colleagues during legislative approval of his nomination, commented, the “Commission will be much better off than it’s ever been with the appointment of Edward J. Kasemeyer.”

The Maryland Community Health Resources Commission is also pleased to announce that the recess appointments of Destiny Simone-Ramjohn, Karen-Ann Lichtenstein and Edward J. Kasemeyer by Governor Hogan were approved by the Senate of Maryland earlier this month.

On December 4^th, Helping Up Mission (HUM) celebrated the Inspiring Hope Campaign's Women's and Children's Center Virtual Topping Off Ceremony – a traditional rite held when the last beam is placed atop a structure during its construction. Women's Spiritual Recovery Program member Dashawn shared her compelling story, and an inspirational poem was written and delivered by 2020 Women's Spiritual Recovery program graduate Jeanne. The Woman's Spiritual Recovery Program supported by the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission, is a six-month intensive residential recovery program for women experiencing addiction, homelessness, poverty and often co-occurring mental illness. HUM provides basic needs (food, clothing, and shelter) and comprehensive wraparound services including access to health care, primary health, mental health and substance abuse counseling, dental, legal services, educational and workforce development services, recovery classes, spiritual care, life enrichment, transportation, and more.

The new 145,000 sq. ft. center will allow HUM to expand services to as many as 200 women and 50 accompanying children. To learn more about the Inspiring Hope Campaign's Women's and Children's Center Virtual Topping Off Ceremony please visit Helping Up Mission.

Access to Wholistic and Productive Living Institute, Inc. (AWPL) is a leading Maryland public health safety­ net provider in Prince George’s County dedicated to the prevention, reduction, and elimination of health inequities through the promotion and improvement of access to affordable health care and social services. The CHRC recently awarded AWPL a grant supporting the Bright Beginnings Program to address the health and social needs of disadvantaged women of color in Prince George’s County who experience a variety of social determinants of health and are at higher risk of negative health outcomes.

The program works with women who are pregnant, post-partum and diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and/or diabetes who lack access to needed health care and social services. Women are referred through provider referrals or community outreach and are assigned a Community Health Worker (CHW) to provide community-based care coordination, navigation, and health education services. A lifestyle coach works with participants to adopt healthy eating and active lifestyle behaviors. The program uses social media to provide monthly Instagram Live chats on various topics including healthy eating and setting lifestyle goals for the new year as well as posting tips and healthy recipes at Instagram@bright.beginnings. 

The intended long-term impacts are a reduction in the rate of low birth weights and reductions in emergency department visits due to diabetes or hypertension. It is hoped that Bright Beginnings will establish a model of CHW-driven care coordination that can be expanded statewide to improve outcomes for vulnerable populations. For more information on the program or to refer someone, contact Kristen Gwaltney at 240-564-0232.

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) continues to provide daily updates as they become available. To access the MDH coronavirus disease web page, click COVID-19 Maryland. The web page now provides links to information on COVID-19 vaccine availability and the locations of vaccination sites with the option to schedule an appointment for vaccination. For further information visit Vaccine.

The site also provides the latest on testing, nursing home cases and contact tracing, click covidLINK for further information. 

In addition, MDH has launched MD COVID Alert, which uses Bluetooth Low Energy technology to quickly notify users who might have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 with the goal of reducing infections in Maryland. For more information about the app, click COVID Alert.