In April, For All Seasons’ Sexual Assault Awareness focused on educating the community on the topic of drug-facilitated sexual assault. Its “Sip Safe” Campaign raised awareness about the risks associated with drug- and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault while promoting proactive behaviors that enhance personal and community safety.

For All Seasons staff brought the community into the conversation by collaborating with local organizations, businesses, and colleges to ensure that the issue of drug and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault is widely recognized and actively addressed. This initiative includes distributing free informational resources and drink-spiking prevention scrunchies to local college students and bartenders. Among the tips are how to identify risky situations when enjoying a night out and how to recognize if a drink has been spiked or tampered with (https://forallseasonsinc.lpages.co/sipsafe/)

For All Seasons also fostered community involvement by partnering with The Ivy Café in Easton to create awareness and show support for sexual assault survivors through its Denim Community Art Project. Community members wrote encouraging messages on patches of denim to show their support for sexual assault survivors. These patches will be displayed at The Ivy Café before becoming a permanent installation in the For All Seasons Rape Crisis Center.

For further information, visit ForAllSeasonsInc.org.

For All Seasons provides the highest quality mental health and victim services to children, adults, and families across the Mid-Shore and throughout the state of Maryland. Services are offered in both English and Spanish and include therapy, psychiatry, victim advocacy, 24-hour crisis hotlines, outreach, and community education. For information about For All Seasons walk-in hours, contact For All Seasons at 410-822-1018 or visit ForAllSeasonsInc.org.

 

Mid-Shore Community Foundation (MSCF) in Easton, Maryland has committed $3.8 million to University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System, toward construction of the new UM Shore Regional Medical Center. 

“The mission of Mid-Shore Community Foundation to enhance the quality of life for individuals throughout the mid-shore region ties closely with Shore Regional Health’s goal to provide state-of-the-art health care,” said Buck Duncan, President, MSCF. “We are pleased to make this gift to advance health care in the region.”

Construction of the new medical center, located at 10000 Longwoods Road in Easton, Maryland, is scheduled for completion in summer 2028.

“It’s all about advancing health care in our communities now and for generations to come,” said Rebecca Bair, Vice President of Philanthropy, UM SRH. “We are so grateful for the leadership level support from the Mid-Shore Community Foundation.” 

“We are deeply grateful to the Mid-Shore Community Foundation for this transformative gift,” added Ken Kozel, UM SRH President and CEO. “The foundation’s generosity will have a lasting impact on community health care in the region.”

About University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center 

The new Shore Regional Medical Center will provide greater access to hospital services for residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties. The state-of-the-art facility is designed to advance health care quality and access on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. In partnership with the University of Maryland Medical System, it will serve as a vital asset to recruit and retain physicians, advanced practice professionals and the clinical and support staff needed to provide high quality, clinically advanced medical care to the region.

Site: 230 acres

Hospital Details:

• Main Tower: 6 levels; 325,294 square feet Acute-Care
• Adjacent medical office and outpatient services building:
• 60,000 square feet
• Licensed Beds: 122 (private rooms)
• ED Treatment Bays: 27
• Adult Observation / Short Stay: 25
• Operating Rooms: 7
• Helipad
• Estimated Total Cost: $540 million

Replaces: University of Maryland Shore Medical Center on South Washington Street in Easton, Md.

Core Programs & Specialty Centers:

• Acute Rehabilitation Center
• Behavioral Health
• Birthing Center
• Cardiac Intervention Center
• Critical Care Medicine
• Emergency Services
• Neurosciences
• Orthopedics
• Vascular Services
• Women’s Services

Project Partners: 

• Covalus – Project Management
• HKS – Architect
• Whiting-Turner I Mahogany, Inc – Construction Manager

 

The public can follow construction progress at umshoreregional.org/rmc. For information about making a gift, contact Rebecca at 667-343-5509 or [email protected].

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About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of th(e University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

 

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

Lara D. Wilson, MHA, has been named Director of External Affairs and Community Liaison for University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), effective May 5, 2025. UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS).

Wilson has served UM SRH since 2021 as Director of Rural Health Care Transformation and, from January to August of last year, as Interim Vice President, Rural Health Care. She has a wealth of experience in hospital, non-profit and community health settings, as well as skills in organizational leadership, population health, strategic planning, project management and business development. 

Wilson’s focus in this newly-created position will be to develop, maintain and strengthen strategic relationships with key external stakeholders around the five-county region served by UM SRH. This will include responding to and initiating local legislative, regulatory and public policy changes that support the mission of UM SRH and UMMS.

‌During her tenure with UM SRH, Wilson has acted as liaison and facilitator of rural health care transformation projects; led the Age-Friendly Health System initiative across the System; and overseen the creation and implementation of community health programs with an emphasis on the aging population. She also engaged in collaborative relationships with local, regional and state agencies in support of rural health care transformation and UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown.

“Lara’s focus on rural health transformation over the past few years will serve her well as Director of External Affairs and Community Liaison,” said Ken Kozel, MBA, UM SRH President and CEO. “In her new role, Lara will help us act on our mission of commitment to our community by strengthening existing collaborations and developing new partnerships with local and state officials, and with non-profit, civic and business organizations throughout our five-county region.”

‌Prior to joining UM SRH, Wilson served six years as executive director of the Maryland Rural Health Association, a state-wide education and advocacy organization. She also has presented on rural health care topics at local, state, and national conferences, and guest lectured on health care management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Maryland School of Public Health. 

Wilson earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park,  and her MS in Health Systems Administration from Georgetown University. She holds multiple specialty certifications in the field of health care management, and in 2021, she was honored as recipient of the Maryland Rural Health Advocate of the Year Award.    

A resident of Centreville, Md., Wilson is active in professional and community organizations, serving on boards and committees for the Queen Anne’s County Economic Development Commission, the Mid Shore Local Health Improvement Coalition, and Centreville Methodist Church, among others.

 

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About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

 

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

University of Maryland Shore Medical Group (UM SMG) – Primary Care at Easton and Queenstown welcome new providers to their care teams. Caitlin Gilman, CRNP, will see patients in Easton, while Christy Marciniak, CRNP, will treat patients in Queenstown.

UM SMG is an affiliate medical practice of the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.

Gilman previously served as a staff nurse for UM SRH, working in Ambulatory Surgery, Surgical Services and Emergency Services. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland, and her Master of Science in Nursing from Chamberlain University.

Marciniak has over a decade of nursing experience, including emergency, cardiology and intensive care. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of Maryland University College in Adelphi, Maryland, and her Master of Science in Nursing from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“We are excited to welcome Christy and Caitlin to our primary care teams in Easton and Queenstown,” said Timothy Shanahan, DO, medical director, UM SMG. “Their skills and experience will be a valuable asset to our team and to our community.”

To make an appointment with Gilman, call 410-820-4880.To make an appointment with Marciniak, call 667-343-7560.

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About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

 

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

As many as 109,000 Marylanders could get thrown off Medicaid if Congress follows through on a proposal to impose a work requirement for the coverage, according to a new report.

The report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation comes as some lawmakers are looking for ways to cut billions in federal spending in coming years. One proposal, to require that able-bodied adults work at least 2o hours a week to receive the benefits, would trim an estimated 7% of recipients — 109,000 people in Maryland, and about 5 million nationwide, the report estimates.

“That would be a significant amount of coverage lost,” said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy officer for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “And it would have really hard consequences for people who would lose their coverage.”

The study based its estimates on work requirement language in a 2023 bill, the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would have required Medicaid recipients to work at least 80 hours a month unless they were exempt as a student, a family caregiver or because of a disability.

The report comes as House Republicans and the Trump administration l0ok to cut billions in federal spending over the next decade. The budget resolution recently adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives directs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, to cut $880 billion over 10 years.

Such reductions would likely require cuts to Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care plan for low-income residents – but exactly how those cuts would be implemented is yet to be decided. Work requirements is one of the options on the table, along with other measures to cut spending to Medicaid.

“There is this quest to find some budget cuts … Work requirements is one of the options that seems to gathering a little bit broader support than some of the others,” Hempstead said. She believes it’s important to know how work requirements could impact health care coverage, even if Congress decides not to add work requirements.

Proponents of work requirements say the policy would help move people into the workforce and help save taxpayer dollars.

The Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative think-tank, said that work requirements “move millions of able-bodied adults from welfare to work,” in a post earlier this week.

“This, in turn, would save taxpayers billions of dollars, preserve resources for the truly needy, and put the Medicare and Social Security trust funds on more solid ground,” the foundation said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a February interview with CNN that the work requirements would not “cut benefits for people who rightly deserve” them.

“You don’t want able-bodied workers on a program that is intended, for example, for single mothers with two small children who is just trying to make it,” he said. “That’s what Medicaid is for – not for 29-year-old males sitting on their couches playing video games. We’re going to find those guys and were going to send them back to work.”

But opponents of work requirements say that those policies do not reflect the challenges of finding work and proving eligibility to federal officials in order to keep coverage through Medicaid.

The report focused on states that have opted to increase Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act expansion, which allows participating states to provide coverage for households that earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level income. Maryland is one of the 40 expansion states.

The report estimates that some 5 million people who live in those states could lose health care coverage if Congress imposes a work requirement to qualify for Medicaid. That would equate to about 6.9% of all 72 million people on Medicaid across the United States.

For Maryland, a work requirement could result in between 95,000 to 109,000 people losing coverage out of 1.5 million currently enrolled in Medicaid, according to the report.

The state with the largest raw number of people who could lose coverage would be California, with between 1 million to 1.2 million people affected out of the total 14 million current Medicaid recipients in the state. On the other end, between 5,000 and 6,000 of North Dakota’s 104,000 Medicaid recipients could lose coverage due to work requirements, according to the RWJF estimates.

But Hempstead also fears that work requirements will ultimately kick people off Medicaid who may still qualify for it. She said that people can often get caught up in the bureaucratic paperwork, which can be taxing for people who rely on Medicaid, as people have to prove whether they have work, are looking for work, or have a reason why they can’t work.

“Even if you accept the idea that people should have to work to get their health insurance,” she said, “what happens with work requirements is a lot of people lose coverage that are working — or are caregiving or are doing other things — and shouldn’t lose their coverage.”

Meanwhile, Hempstead noted the those who lose coverage due to work requirements would strain hospital systems, as uninsured people seek health care through other means, such as the emergency room or through charity care. That could exacerbate Maryland’s lengthy emergency room wait times, which are already some of the highest in the nation.

“There is a lot of spill-over into the health care system. As the uninsurance rate goes up and people don’t have health insurance, they try to ignore things and try to not get care. And sometimes things go away on their own and sometimes they don’t,” she said. “When things are really, really bad, they’ll go to the emergency room, where people will know that they will get treated.”

Benjamin Orr, executive director for Maryland Center on Economic Policy, said that work requirements are counterproductive and will take health insurance away from people who need it, regardless of employment.

“Our society does better when its members are healthy,” Orr said “The idea that we’re going to deny health coverage to 100,000 Marylanders or more is counterproductive to a healthy prosperous society.”

Orr also added that with talks of a looming recession, people are going to have a hard time finding jobs to fulfill work requirements to maintain health coverage. He noted that Maryland “is particularly susceptible to” layoffs in the federal government and other major institutions impacted by decisions from the Trump administration.

“It’s not a good time to be looking for a job, as we are on the cusp of a state-level recession, if not a national recession,” Orr said. “Even folks who might, otherwise in a healthy economy, be well positioned to find work may struggle to find work.”

Hempstead agrees that the work requirement logic is “backwards.”

“When people are healthy, they can work more,” she said. “It’s kind of a bad theory that you ought to be able to work in order to earn access to health care.”

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by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
April 18, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

University of Maryland Shore Medical Group (UM SMG) – Nephrology recently welcomed Jamshid Amanzadeh, MD, PA, to its practice based at 5 Martin Court in Easton. UM SMG is an affiliate medical practice of the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System. 

Dr. Amanzadeh was most recently in private practice in San Francisco and previously spent six years with Munson Nephrology Consultants in Traverse City, Michigan. His experience also includes five years as a staff physician with the VA Texas Health Care System in Dallas, Texas, during which he also served as Assistant Professor of Nephrology and Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. He is board certified in Nephrology and Internal Medicine. 

A graduate of Tehran University School of Medicine in Tehran, Iran, Dr. Amanzadeh spent four years as a primary care physician in Tehran, after which he completed residencies in Internal Medicine at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey, and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan; and also a fellowship in Nephrology at University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine. He is a member of the American Society of Nephrology and has co-authored multiple articles on topics related to kidney disease and nephrology.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Amanzadeh join our nephrology team,” said Anish Hinduja, MD, Medical Director of UM SMG-Nephrology. “His experience and expertise are an excellent fit for our practice and will serve our patients very well.” 

To make an appointment with Dr. Amanzadeh, call 410-828-9823.

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About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

University of Maryland Shore Medical Group – Cardiology recently welcomed three new providers: Ian C. Davis, MD; David-Allen Lindsay, MD, and Emily Uphoff, MSN, CNL, RN, FNP-C. Dr. Davis, Dr. Lindsay and Uphoff join Jeffery Etherton, MD; S. Robert Hanna, Jr., MD; Robyn Lanasa, CRNP;  Dipesh Ludhwani, MD; JoAnn Mullican, PA; Clare Ross, CRNP; Gabriel Sardi, MD; and Timothy Shanahan, DO, in the practice based at UM Shore Medical Pavilion at Easton, 500 Cadmus Lane, suite 207. UM Shore Medical Group (UM SMG) is an affiliate medical practice of the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Davis, Dr. Lindsay and Emily to UM Shore Medical Group-Cardiology,” said Dr. Shanahan, Medical Director, UM Shore Medical Group. “Our cardiology team is dedicated to meeting the increased needs of our community and bringing quality providers on board. This is a testament to the forward-thinking motivations and the progress of UM Shore Regional Health’s leadership to meet those needs.”  

Dr. Davis earned a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and completed his cardiovascular medicine fellowship and internal medicine residency training at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore. He is board certified in internal medicine with the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a member of American College of Physicians and the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Lindsay completed his fellowship in advanced cardiovascular imaging with New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, New York, and completed a fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick N.J. He finished his residency in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Lindsay earned his Doctor of Medicine from New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York, and his Master of Science with a concentration in physiology and biophysics from SUNY Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and molecular biology from Drew University in Madison, N.J., where he graduated with high honors, magna cum laude. He is board certified in internal medicine with the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Uphoff most recently was a family nurse practitioner with Family Medicine Inpatient Services at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco, Cali. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, Uphoff worked as a critical care nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and as a critical care intensive care unit nurse at University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin, Texas. 

Uphoff earned her Family Nurse Practitioner post-master’s certificate from the University of California in San Francisco, California, her Master of Nursing in Clinical Nurse Leadership from University of Maryland, Baltimore in Baltimore and her Bachelor of Science in Biological Science from University of Maryland College Park in College Park, Maryland.

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About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

 

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

More than one in four people on Maryland’s Eastern Shore are part of the military community – either active military, guard reservists, veterans, or family members of the military. To help serve the needs of this significant population, For All Seasons has gotten a second matching grant from the Sheila E. Hixson Behavioral Health Services Matching Grant Program to address the high instances of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and sexual assault-related trauma among local service members, veterans, and their families.

“We are thrilled to be involved with this partnership with the Veteran and Military Support Alliance (VAMSA) at the Center for the Military and Veteran Family in Stevensville. We are working together to get veterans and their families the support they need. Our Open Access™ program eliminates a waitlist and allows individuals and families to begin mental health services in a timely way. Individuals can select a time window and a location, complete their intake, and meet with a therapist on the same day. It’s the first mental health delivery model of its kind on the Eastern Shore, and is helping area veterans in their time of need,” comments Beth Anne Dorman, President & CEO of For All Seasons.

The grant will help address insufficient immediate access to mental health services and cultural competency barriers that currently exist. Those being served include active-duty service members from any branch of service, veterans from any branch of service, military spouses (both active duty and veterans from any branch of service), and military children and stepchildren (both active duty and veterans from any branch of service.

The agency’s Open Access™ program and financial assistance fund have been enabling veterans to get same-day appointments and to pay nothing out of pocket for the services they receive. Eric Johnson, Executive Director, of Veteran and Military Support Alliance (VAMSA) at the Center for the Military and Veteran Family in Stevensville, has been working with For All Seasons and shares that there have been noticeable changes since the program was implemented a year ago.

“Many people on the Eastern Shore, not just veterans, but from any walk of life, feel like it is a resource desert here when compared with the western shore. So anything we do is going to help this, this community, and the broader community,” Johnson comments.

He points out that the work between VAMSA and For All Seasons has been focused on building credibility for veterans who need to utilize the services, which has been crucial in removing barriers to them seeking treatment. He shares the slogan, “You must know me to treat me,” as an example of the importance of clinicians understanding military culture.

“For All Seasons sought input from the very community that they sought to reach. I don’t think you can put a price tag on that. They allowed us to help shape the messaging to veterans in a way that drew the veteran community to participate. That says a lot about For All Seasons’ genuine commitment to helping this population,” he adds.

For All Seasons also draws on its Trauma Certified Therapists to deliver services to veterans. Last year, For All Seasons Center for Learning, trained 100% of its team in cultural competency around service members, veterans, and their families. The “Trained Military Assistance Provider (TMAP)” training curriculum covered topics such as healthcare providers, helping children of veterans, and crisis response and suicide among military members and veterans.

One of the most significant statistics Johnson shares is the number of suicide preventions since the program started one year ago. To date, there have been 28 veteran suicide saves of veterans who self-identify or are identified as suicidal by VAMSA staff.

Regarding the current needs for veterans on the Shore, Johnson shares, “I think the enduring challenges are the urgent ones. These involve veterans who have survivor guilt which affects their ability to seek and accept care. It’s not something that can easily be fixed, but it starts with an agency’s outward commitment like what For All Seasons has done with its messaging to veterans.”

“The emerging dynamics would be that many folks are losing their jobs right now as often veterans go into civil service or work with a government contractor. Those areas are vulnerable right now to job loss and the stress that comes with that can be a trigger. This is a population who is already struggling, potentially with PTSD, stress, anxiety, or depression, as well as physical issues, so this could create a greater need for treatment,” he adds.

Lei Ellingson, Deputy Director, of the Veterans and Military Support Alliance (VAMSA), shares that many of these veterans have families, and depending on when they served in the military may affect how they approach getting mental health services.

According to Johnson, there can also be waiting periods and interruptions with some other mental health providers. He adds, “We don’t see that at all with For All Seasons. They are our go-to provider for mental health emergencies, particularly helping to serve our suicidal veterans.”

VAMSA sees anywhere between 45 and 60 veterans per month either in person or by phone in Stevensville. Through the new Hixon grant, VAMSA and For All Seasons hope to launch partner-embedded mental health consultations at VAMSA to provide rapid triage and “hot” handoffs for service members, veterans, and their families to For All Seasons’ Open Access™ services. For All Seasons is also working in the coming months to launch intensive alternative therapy retreats for veterans in partnership with Patriot Point in Dorchester County.

For further information, visit www.ForAllSeasonsInc.org/SMVF.

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For All Seasons provides the highest quality mental health and victim services to children, adults, and families across the Mid-Shore and throughout the state of Maryland. Services are offered in both English and Spanish and include therapy, psychiatry, victim advocacy, 24-hour crisis hotlines, outreach, and community education. For information about For All Seasons walk-in hours, contact For All Seasons at 410-822-1018 or visit ForAllSeasonsInc.org.

The next Safe Sitter® course, hosted by University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), will take place Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton. UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.

The course is taught by UM SRH Women and Children’s Department skilled nurses and is designed for children ages 11 to 13. The course will also be offered Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton’s Health Education Center, 219 South Washington St.; and Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the conference room at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown, 100 Brown St.

The course is designed to prepare students to be safe when they are home alone, watching younger siblings or babysitting other children. The instructor-led class is taught using games and role-playing exercises so that students can practice rescue skills. Participants in the program can also expect to learn safety skills, including how to prevent unsafe situations and what to do when faced with dangers such as power failures or weather emergencies; child care skills, such as tips to manage behavior that will help sitters stay in control of themselves and the children in their care; first aid and rescue skills, including CPR and choking rescue; and life and business skills to help sitters screen potential childcare jobs, discuss fees and greet employers.

The cost of the program is $50, and a Safe Sitter kit will be provided to all student participants. Students should bring a lunch on the day of the program.

To register for the course, email Gladys Peeples at [email protected]. Early registration is encouraged, as class size is limited. For questions, call Stephanie Blades at 410-822-1000, ext. 5234. 

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About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

 

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

 

With sexual assaults on the rise on the Mid-Shore, For All Seasons is working during Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April to educate the community on the risks, including being a victim of a drug-facilitated sexual assault. For All Seasons’ first “Sip Safe” Campaign launches on April 1. The campaign’s mission is to raise awareness about the risks associated with drug- and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault while promoting proactive behaviors that enhance personal and community safety.

For All Seasons’ staff is collaborating with local organizations, businesses, and colleges to ensure that the issue of drug and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault is widely recognized and actively addressed. Part of this initiative includes distributing free informational resources, drink-spiking prevention scrunchies, and drink cover stickers to local college students and bartenders. Among the tips are how to identify risky situations when enjoying a night out and how to recognize if a drink has been spiked or tampered with (https://forallseasonsinc.lpages.co/sipsafe/)

Bringing community into the conversation.  Outreach will be done in the public schools, colleges, and local businesses around this year’s national theme, “Together We Act, United We Change,” highlighting the importance of working together to address and prevent sexual abuse, assault, and harassment.

According to Kristy Mirando, Director of Victim Services at For All Seasons, “With sexual violence continuing to harm our Mid-Shore children and adults, as a behavioral health agency and rape crisis center, our agency cares about education and prevention. We know that helping youth and adults to understand what sexual assault encompasses is important. Sexual violence is an umbrella term that includes any unwanted sexual contact. Forms of sexual violence include rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or sexual abuse. It also includes a range of behaviors such as unwanted sexual contact or words, online exploitation, exposing oneself to others without consent, and nonconsensual image sharing. We are hoping throughout this month ahead to educate youth and adults about risk and how to avoid situations which may lead to sexual assault.”

In recognition of Denim Day (April 23), For All Seasons is partnering with The Ivy Café in Easton to create awareness and show support for sexual assault survivors through its Denim Day Community Art Project. On April 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., community members can come to The Ivy Café on Dover Street in Easton and write supportive messages on patches of denim to show their support for sexual assault survivors. These patches will later be displayed on a large canvas at The Ivy Café and at For All Seasons Rape Crisis Center.

Denim Day is an international day created after an Italian court overruled a 1999 rape conviction because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped her rapist remove her jeans, implying consent. The next day, women in Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity.  Local citizens are encouraged to wear denim with a purpose on April 23 to show their support for ending sexual violence and victim blaming. Participants can send their photos of Denim Day to [email protected] or tag their Denim Day photos to #DenimDayFAS2025.

Between April 7 and 11, the For All Seasons Rape Crisis Staff will be partnering with the Kent County Public Schools for Sexual Assault Awareness Week. On April 7 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. For All Seasons will present in the Kent County High School cafeteria on “Protecting Teens in a Digital World: Internet Safety & Healthy Relationships.” The presentation is open to high school and middle school parents, guardians, and concerned community members interested in keeping teens safe online, and a light dinner will be served. On April 8, For All Seasons staff will help teachers at Kent County High School facilitate a lesson about Denim Day, and students will participate in the Denim Day patch art project.

For All Seasons will also present Sexual Assault Awareness Month proclamations in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Talbot, and Queen Anne’s counties during April.

For further information about how you or your business or organization can participate in Sexual Assault Awareness Month, visit https://forallseasonsinc.lpages.co/sipsafe/ or email [email protected].

For All Seasons provides the highest quality mental health and victim services to children, adults, and families across the Mid-Shore and throughout the state of Maryland. Services are offered in both English and Spanish and include therapy, psychiatry, victim advocacy, 24-hour crisis hotlines, outreach, and community education. For information about For All Seasons walk-in hours, contact For All Seasons at 410-822-1018 or visit ForAllSeasonsInc.org.