Shore Health Systems

Originally Released: February, 1999
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SHORE HEALTH SYSTEM CHOOSES UM TO MANAGE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS AT DORCHESTER AND MEMORIAL HOSPITALS

The Shore Health System has reached an agreement with the University of Maryland Emergency Medicine Associates to manage and staff the emergency departments at The Memorial Hospital at Easton and Dorchester General Hospital in Cambridge. The University of Maryland Emergency Medicine Associates is a non-profit physician group affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The 3-year contract will begin in July.

The agreement covers physician recruitment, staffing, management, and financial services at Memorial and Dorchester Hospitals. The facilities, nursing staff, support personnel and other technical services will remain unchanged at both hospitals.

In the four month period leading to the start of the contract on July l, 1999, physicians of University of Maryland Emergency Medicine Associates will begin a strategic planning process to assess the needs of the two emergency departments. This will include meeting with staff and clinical departments to determine what emergency medicine services are needed, what improvements should be made, and then beginning physician recruitment based on the analysis for both hospitals.

Michael Joyce, M.D., Director of Emergency Services at Dorchester General Hospital and Acting Medical Director for Memorial, will continue as Medical Director at Dorchester General. University of Maryland physicians will work with The Memorial Hospital to appoint a Medical Director for its Emergency Department by July 1, 1999.

"We are pleased to enter an agreement with one of the nation's premier centers for emergency medicine. The benefits to our communities will be evident for years to come," states Joseph Ross, Shore Health System President and CEO.

Among the programs to be included in the emergency departments will be cardiac care, urgent care, and pediatric services.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to provide excellent, comprehensive emergency services to the communities on the eastern shore," says Brian Browne, M.D., Chief of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland. "Our physicians have already established an excellent relationship with the Shore Health System through our Maryland ExpressCare program, which transports patients from the eastern shore to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore for highly specialized care. We look forward to bringing even more resources to the eastern shore communities," Dr. Browne added.

By July 1, the physicians will be providing 24-hour, 7-day a week coverage to the two emergency departments. Dorchester General Hospital's Emergency Department has 13,000 patient visits per year. Memorial has 32,000.

University of Maryland's Emergency Medicine Group provides management and staffing at eight hospitals across Maryland, approaching nearly 240,000 emergency visits annually. Hospitals include: University of Maryland Medical Center, Liberty Medical Center, Bon Secours Baltimore Health System, Mercy Medical Center, Washington County Health System, Baltimore VA Maryland Health Care System, and now Dorchester General and Easton Memorial.

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This page was last updated on: March 21, 2008.