Maryland Community Health 
Resources Commission
March 30, 2018 | Issue 36
Larry Hogan,  Governor 

Boyd K. Rutherford, Lieutenant Governor

Robert R. Neall, Health Secretary
CHRC Commissioners
Allan Anderson, MD
Elizabeth Chung
Scott T. Gibson
J. Wayne Howard
Surina Jordan, PhD
Barry Ronan
Erica I. Shelton, MD
Carol Ivy Simmons, PhD
Julie Wagner
Anthony C. Wisniewski
Tools and Resources
Evidence for Action: Matching Service
2018 Call for Proposals

Evidence for Action (E4A) will support a "matching team" overseen by a grantee organization that meets the eligibility criteria noted whose primary role will be to link organizations working in and with communities with strong research partners to rigorously evaluate the health impacts of program or policy interventions. Organizations working in and with communities may include health care providers, nonprofits, community-based organizations, and social service or government agencies, which have the infrastructure to implement initiatives but limited research capacity for scientifically rigorous evaluation of their impact. Application Deadline: April 26, 2018, 3:00 p.m. ET. For more information on this funding opportunity, click here.  
Community Health Worker Conference

The Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center is sponsoring a conference on April 6, 2018, 8:00 AM - 12:30 PM entitled Critical Role of Community Health Workers in Health Care Delivery with Special Considerations for Older Adults at the
Eastern Shore Hospital Center
5262 Woods Road
Cambridge, MD 21613

Keynote Address: K athryn Fiddler, DNP, MS, RN, NE-BC,  Executive Director of Continuum Services, Peninsula Regional Medical Center.

For more information and to register, click here. 

CHRC News
CHRC issues 15 grants totaling $3.0 million to expand access in underserved communities and serve vulnerable populations

Earlier this month, the CHRC awarded 15 grants totaling $3.0 million to expand access to health care in underserved communities, reduce health disparities, and increase the capacity of safety net providers to serve vulnerable residents. The CHRC's FY 2018 Call for Proposals looked to support projects that are innovative, sustainable, and replicable in other areas of the state. The 15 projects are projected to serve more than 14,000 Marylanders. This is the first cycle of grants awarded this year. The Commission may award additional grants later this spring. Click here for the media release announcing these awards and here for an overview of these programs.
CHRC invited to present at Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers

The Healthy Communities Working Group of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers invited the CHRC to present the results and outcomes achieved by its behavioral health grantees. To view the presentation, click here. The CHRC has funded 53 projects to expand access to integrated behavioral health services and increase access to substance use treatment services in support of Maryland's response to the opioid epidemic. These programs have collectively served more than 68,000 Marylanders, many of whom have complex health and social service needs. Click here for an overview of these projects.
Grantee News
The Charles County Department of Health's  Mobile Integrated Healthcare Program Receives Governor's Customer Service Heroes Award

The Office of Governor Larry Hogan awarded the 2018 Governor's Customer Service Heroes Award to University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, Charles County Government, and the Charles County Department of Health, to recognize the CHRC-funded Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) Program.  The Charles County MIH program, consisting of a nurse, paramedic, and community health worker, visits vulnerable patients after hospital discharge to provide health and social supports to help prevent repeat hospitalizations and reduce preventable 9-1-1 calls.  The Governor's Customer Service Heroes Award recognizes a Maryland organization going above and beyond to solve a specific challenge while developing a process that significantly improves the delivery of services, consistent with the Governor's Customer Service Promise. For press coverage of the event, click  here. 

The Charles County MIH program was awarded a three-year $400,000 grant from the CHRC in FY 2016. The goals of the program are to address both the health needs and the social determinants of health that impact the well-being of vulnerable residents of Charles County.

Shown from left to right:  Gregory M. Derwart, Managing Director of Administration and Customer Experience; Jenny Hunt, registered nurse; Pam Gantt, paramedic; Wanda Mahoney, community health worker; and Michael Morrello, director of the Governor's Office of Performance Improvement.
The Maryland General Assembly Approves a $1 Million Bond Bill to Support Thriving Germantown

The Maryland General Assembly has approved a $1 million bond to support the Thriving Germantown Initiative, which utilizes a collective impact model to deliver an array of social support, health, and other services for low-income multigenerational families. This bond bill will provide needed capital support for the acquisition, design, construction, renovation, and purchase of capital equipment for the establishment of an UpCounty Nonprofit Service HUB in Montgomery County. This project would build a nonprofit shared space in Northern Montgomery County for the development of an efficient and accessible economic, health and human service delivery model. Additionally it would build nonprofit capacity and presence in a part of the county that is seeing some of the highest growth in population and need for support services. Many of the Thriving Germantown Nonprofit partners will be utilizing the shared space.

The Thriving Germantown Initiative is supported with a two-year grant for $250,000 from the CHRC, which leverages $1,693,221 in additional state, private and local funding. Supporting programs that expand access to affordable, high-quality health services for low-income individuals and leverage additional funding are priorities of the CHRC. Since its inception, the initial funding provided by the CHRC ($63.3 million) has enabled its grantees to leverage $22.4 million in additional funding. Click here to read more about how grantees have leveraged CHRC funds to expand health care access for Marylanders.