Healthy St. Mary’s Kicks Off Mission

With a mission of improving the overall health of the St. Mary’s County residents, the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership held its inaugural meeting on June 4. The kickoff attracted more than 100 attendees, interested in learning ways to be proactive on a number of public health issues.

St. Mary’s County Health Officer Dr. Meenakshi G. Brewster, MD, MPH, is the chair of the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership, or HSMP. She started the inaugural meeting with a presentation on the partnership. Dr. Brewster detailed the efforts of the first community-driven local health improvement plan, Healthy St. Mary’s 2020. As Health Officer for the St. Mary’s County Health Department, Dr. Brewster directs activities of the local health department and works with community partners to address population level health issues. Her presentation, along with soft copies of handouts and materials, is available on the HSMP website.

Jacob R. Day, Assoc. AIA, City Council President of Salisbury, Md., gave a presentation titled “Implementing Complete Streets.” The presentation detailed the benefits of adopting a Complete Streets policy, which directs community transportation planners and engineers to routinely design and operate the entire right of way to enable safe access for all users, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation. This means that every transportation project will make the street network better and safer for drivers, transit users, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Mr. Day has spent his career revitalizing downtowns and making them more vibrant, livable places. He has served as an Army officer and as the city Planning Commissioner.

A presentation titled “Mobile Integrated Community Health Pilot Program” was given by Mary Ann Thompson, RN, BSN, Director of Nursing, Queen Anne’s County Health Department. The program works to improve health outcomes among medically vulnerable populations through multi-agency integrated and intervention-based health care. Ms. Thompson told about the implementation of the program in Queen Anne’s County. The discussion covered challenges such as partner buy-in, multi-agency collaboration and funding as well as program evolution to address these challenges.

Kathleen M. Connors gave a presentation on Trauma-Informed Care. Ms. Connors is from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry; and is program director, Taghi Moadarressi Center for Infant Study; and project director, FITT Center. Connors focused on the impact of traumatic events and adverse childhood experiences on behavioral health and highlighted family-informed trauma interventions. Ms. Connors has more than 26 years of experience as a clinical social worker working with traumatized children and their families. She has provided mental health treatment to children and families in a variety of settings, including hospital, residential treatment, private practice and clinic, home, and school-based programs. Her work has largely focused on the impact and recovery from trauma and family violence.

Kathleen Hoke, JD, Law School Professor and Director, Legal Resource Center for Public Health Policy gave a talk on “Electronic Cigarettes: Past, Present and Future.” The rapid rise in use of electronic nicotine delivery devices, or e-cigarettes has generated questions and concerns in communities nationwide. This session provided an overview on e-cigarettes, current and anticipated regulations, and opportunities for local action. Ms. Hoke provides technical legal assistance to Maryland state and local health officials, legislators, and organizations working in the development of public health policy and tobacco control.

Henry Bogdan, Director of Public Policy for Maryland Non-Profits, spoke on advocacy and policy. Effective advocates influence public policy, laws and budgets by using facts, their relationships, the media, and messaging to educate government officials and the public on the changes they want to bring to a community. This session provided training on how to utilize advocacy to accomplish community goals. Mr. Bogdan joined Maryland Nonprofits as Director of Public Policy in 1997, after a 20-year career in policy analysis, advocacy, and government relations for the City of Baltimore.