Maryland Community Health Resources Commission
March 31, 2022 | Issue 79
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CHRC Welcomes New Commissioners Loker and Thornton-Davis |
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The Maryland General Assembly this month confirmed Governor Hogan’s appointments of Roberta "Robbie" Loker and TraShawn Thornton-Davis, MD as Commissioners to the CHRC.
Robbie Loker (pictured left) has worked for more than 20 years to expand access to health care for underserved communities in southern Maryland. Currently, Ms. Loker is a reverse mortgage educator. She previously worked for the St. Mary’s County Department of Social Services as Assistant Director for Communications and Community Initiatives. Ms. Loker chairs the Board of Health Share of St. Mary’s County Inc. Previously, she was Board Chair of the United Way of St. Mary’s County and of St. Mary’s Hospital. She also has served on the boards of St. Mary’s County Chamber of Commerce and MedStar Health.
TraShawn Thornton-Davis, MD (pictured right) is Assistant Service Chief, OB/GYN, DCSM for the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, where she also serves as a Physician Ambassador and member of the Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Team. Previously, Dr. Thornton-Davis was an OB/GYN Module Leader at Marlow Heights and Prince George’s Medical Center. Additionally, she has co-chaired the Prince George’s County Healthy Families Symposium. Washingtonian magazine has rated her a Top Doctor five years in a row. Dr. Thornton-Davis received her medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine. She represents Kaiser Permanente on the Commission.
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March is Social Work Month! |
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The CHRC is pleased to celebrate Social Work Month. The mission of social work is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic needs of all people, especially the most vulnerable. Social workers contribute to the health and well-being of Marylanders in innumerable ways, and the Commission deeply appreciates their service. Former CHRC Commissioner Ivy Simmons (pictured) shared a gubernatorial proclamation honoring Social Work Month with over 200 Social Workers at Kaiser Permanente as well as with the NASW-Maryland Chapter, in honor of social workers across the state of Maryland.
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UPDATE: Pathways to Health Equity
On March 24, CHRC submitted a report to the Maryland General Assembly on the implementation of the Pathways to Health Equity Program. The report, required by the Maryland Health Equity Resource Act, provides an overview of the nine Pathways projects, key interventions, health disparities addressed, and key measures to evaluate the impact of the grants. Click here to read the report. On March 17, CHRC staff gave a presentation on the Pathways program to the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission’s (HSCRC) Population Health Management Group.
Click here to view the presentation.
The CHRC has selected nine grantees for the Pathways to Health Equity program, investing a total of $13.5 million in new resources in underserved communities across the state. Click here to read the press release and click here to view program summaries for the nine grantees.
To sign up for the Health Equity Resource Community (HERC)/Pathways Mailing List, visit Sign Up.
For more information, please visit the CHRC’s HERC webpage.
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UPDATE: FY 2022 Call for Proposals
The application period for the CHRC’s FY 2022 Call for Proposals closed on March 22. The RFP generated 48 applications requesting a total of $27,783,700. The Commission is currently reviewing these applications and will vote at its next meeting in May to invite a select number of applicants to present at a subsequent meeting in late May or early June. Grant awards will be made immediately following that meeting. CHRC meetings will be posted on our website as they are scheduled. CHRC meetings are open to the public, but participation is limited to Commissioners, CHRC staff, and applicants invited to present.
Under the FY 2022 Call for Proposals, the Commission will provide a total of $7 million in new grant funding for the following three areas: (1) Addressing chronic disease prevention and management, including diabetes and its comorbidities, hypertension, and heart disease; (2) Promoting family health, including maternal and child health, and childhood asthma; and (3) Addressing Behavioral Health, including Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder and the ongoing impact of the opioid crisis.
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Research Findings for Family Connects Maryland Postpartum Home Visiting Program
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The Family Tree recently received a research report from the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work examining its Family Connects Maryland program. The program, which was launched in 2016 and which was supported by the CHRC, aims to reach every family with a newborn infant in a defined community, providing up to three home visits beginning with the infant’s first month of life. The program seeks to improve infant and maternal health and well-being by providing postnatal education and support in the home and by linking new mothers and their families to community resources. During the two years of the CHRC grant, the program resulted in 537 home visits to 490 women and families. Since that time, the program has been further expanded. Family Connects Maryland is sustained largely through public funding.
Findings of the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work’s report, which covers the period June 2019 to March 2020, include:
- Infants randomly assigned to Family Connects Maryland had fewer pediatric/clinic visits for an illness, injury or emergency.
- Family Connects Maryland infants whose family had participated in at least one nurse visit had fewer hospital overnights for an illness, injury or emergency.
- Mothers enrolled in Family Connects Maryland reported more use of breastfeeding supports than control group mothers.
For more information about the report, please contact The Family Tree at: 410-889-2300, Ext. 1203
The CHRC has awarded 29 grants totaling more than $6.2 million to support women's health services, improve birth outcomes, and reduce health disparities. For more information about these grants, click here.
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Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities grant opportunity
The Maryland Health Department’s Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities has released a Request for Applications to address disparities in Social Determinants of Health and obesity in Maryland communities. A pre-application training session will be held on Friday, April 1, and applications are due Friday, April 22, 2022. Services will be provided in specific geographic areas to include but not limited to: Hagerstown, Nanjemoy, Crisfield, Cherry Hill (Baltimore City). For more information, click here.
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School-Based Health Centers Annual Conference
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The Annual Conference of the Maryland Assembly on School Based Health Care (MASBHC) will be held, virtually, May 17 -19, 2022. The theme is “Re-emerging & Re-connecting in 2022,” and keynote speakers will include Executive Director of the National Association of School Nurses Donna Mazyck, Co-Director of National Center for School Mental Health Sharon Hoover, and Vice President and Director of the Weitzman Institute April Joy Damian. More info will be posted here.
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Crossroads Community 5K
Crossroads Community, a nonprofit organization providing behavioral health recovery support services to residents of the mid-shore counties, is hosting a 5K race event along the Cross County Connector on Kent Island. The race will be held Saturday, April 23. For more information, click here.
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Let’s LEAD! Health Equity and Disparity Event May 9, 2022, to Discuss Best Practices and a Regional Collaborative
Join regional leaders for a Leaders in Equity and Diversity (LEAD) Planning and Best Practice Event on Monday, May 9, 2022, from 9:30am to 3:00pm in Hagerstown, MD.
The (LEAD) Planning and Best Practice Event is sponsored by AARP and Meritus Health, and supported by the Maryland Hospital Association and the Maryland Department of Health. The goal of the May 9th event is to hear best practices nationally and to discuss a collaborative approach that brings together healthcare delivery organizations for specific, action-oriented learning targeting meaningful outcomes. The event aims to gather input into the design and key success factors for an equity and diversity collaborative with focus on minority aging populations to live a healthier, productive life and begin to harvest best and emerging practices.
Attendance is limited to 50 people. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail Christie Phillips at Christie.Phillips@meritushealth.com with your name, title, organization and email address.
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April is National Oral Cancer Awareness Month
April is National Oral Cancer Awareness Month. For more information about screening, events and resources visit the Oral Cancer Foundation website. |
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Larry Hogan, Governor
Boyd K. Rutherford, Lieutenant Governor
Dennis R. Schrader, Health (MDH) Secretary
CHRC Commissioners: Edward J. Kasemeyer, Chair, J. Wayne Howard, Vice Chair, Scott Gibson, Flor Giusti, David Lehr, Karen-Ann Lichtenstein, Roberta Loker, Carol Masden, Sadiya Muqueeth, DrPH, Destiny-Simone Ramjohn, PhD, TraShawn Thornton-Davis, MD.
Mark Luckner, Executive Director
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