March 19, 2024

Youth Gun Violence is Topic of Annual Meeting

Youth Gun Violence

Youth gun violence in the community is just one of the interesting topics that will be discussed during the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership annual meeting, set for Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. MedStar St. Mary’s supports the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership.

HSMP is pleased to welcome Dr. Meenakshi Brewster and Sheriff Timothy Cameron as speakers this year.

Dr. Brewster is the health officer for St. Mary’s County and is co-chair of HSMP. Sheriff Cameron started his career with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office in 1980 and has been the St. Mary’s sheriff since December 2006. The sheriff and health officer will present local law enforcement and health statistics and explore the topic of youth gun violence, welcoming input from the audience.

The 2019 HSMP annual meeting is coming up. Register here.

The meeting is an opportunity for participants to network while learning from public health experts and receiving updates on local health improvement efforts. This year’s meeting will include learning sessions from distinguished speakers on a variety of topics related to the four priority health issues facing St. Mary’s County: Access to Care, Healthy Eating & Active Living, Behavioral Health, and Tobacco Use & Exposure to Secondhand Smoke.

The Healthy Eating & Active Living Action Team will host a Healthy Food Drive at the meeting. For examples of healthy foods to donate and tips to host your own Healthy Food Drive, visit HSMP online.

The opening session and HSMP updates will be delivered by Dr. Stephen T. Michaels, the chief operating and medical officer for MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital. Dr. Michaels has direct oversight of the hospital’s day-to-day operations and provides medical direction to ensure delivery of the highest quality health care services. Dr. Michaels is the co-chair of the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership. During his presentation, he will offer an overview of HSMP and an update on the achievements and work of the action teams during the past year.

The keynote session, Lessons Learned from Tobacco in the E-Cigarette Epidemic, will be delivered by Panagis Galiatsatos, MD, MHS, the director of the Tobacco Treatment Clinic at Johns Hopkins and an assistant professor in the division of pulmonary and critical care at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Galiatsatos is also the co-founder and co-director of Medicine for the Greater Good and serves as the interim director for the Health Equity Steering Committee for the Johns Hopkins Medical System. His presentation will cover the history of linking tobacco to lung cancer, what that discovery means for public health messages today, and what to do overall for e-cigarette usage.

One breakout session, Project 2025, will be led by Kat Olbrich, MA. Olbrich is the Maryland and Delaware area director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In this position, Olbrich educates the public and organizes programs focusing on stopping the loss of life from suicide. The presentation will discuss the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s initiative to reduce the annual suicide rate in the US by 20% before 2025. Ms. Olbrich will discuss the four critical areas that have been identified to save the most lives in the shortest amount of time: Firearms, Health care Systems, Emergency Departments, and Corrections Settings.

Another breakout session, Preventing Chronic Disease through Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change, will be led by Michael Rhein, MPA. Mr. Rhein is the president and CEO of the Institute for Public Health Innovation. He will talk about policy, systems and environmental change strategies for reducing chronic disease at the community level, plus he will share examples and lessons learned from IPHI’s work around the region.

Another breakout session, A Community Conversation About Youth Gun Violence, will be led by Dr. Brewster, as mentioned above. Dr. Brewster is a public health trained physician, and board certified in the clinical specialties of Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. Dr. Brewster will be accompanied by Sheriff Cameron, as mentioned above.

Another session, Using Trails and Complete Streets to Create More Active Communities, will be led by Fred Shaffer, MA, a planner coordinator for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Mr. Shaffer worked for the M-NCPPC for more than 25 years and for a majority of that time has focused on bicycle, pedestrian, and trail issues. He also serves on the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and the PG County Bicycle and Trails Advisory Group. His presentation will highlight the ways trails and walkable communities can be instrumental for improving the health and wellness of residents and fostering more active lifestyles.

Another session, Charles County Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Paving the Way to a Healthier Community, will be led by Amber Starn, MPH,  the epidemiologist and director of health promotions for the Charles County Department of Health. She has more than 15 years of experience working in the public health arena as an epidemiologist, grant writer, health educator, and clinical researcher. The presentation will focus on the Charles County Mobile Integrated Healthcare program, outlining program eligibility, the referral process, program outcomes, sources of funding, success stories, challenges, lessons learned, and expansion in the future.

The breakout session C.A.R.E. to End Stigma will be led by Dorothy Fox, MBA, President and CEO of The Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County. Ms. Fox’s early career days as a Certified Psychiatric Rehab Practitioner gave her the opportunity to work with homeless populations, programs for chronic mentally ill adults, and she started the first Domestic Violence Safe House in Carroll County. Her presentation will describe the impetus behind the Carroll Anti-Stigma Resilience Effort campaign, the diverse local coalition behind it, and the strategies that are being used to dispel myths, overcome stigma, and provide tools for communicating effectively about behavioral health.

The Plenary Session Language Matters: Understanding the difference between social needs and social determinants in community health, will be led by Brian Castrucci, DrPH, MA, the President and Chief Executive Officer at the de Beaumont Foundation. Under Castrucci’s leadership, the de Beaumont Foundation is driving change to improve population health, foster collaboration between public health and other sectors, and strengthen the country’s public health infrastructure. Castrucci’s presentation will highlight the difference between social needs and social determinants, including why that difference matters to partners who work on community health. Castrucci will also talk about the different roles that partners can play in community health improvement.

For more information and one-click access to a full list of resources available at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, visit their Leader Member Page.

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