Owner Testifies

OCEAN CITY -- Reese Cropper, III, owner of Insurance Management Group, Inc. in Ocean City, testified before the Economic Matters Committee on Dec. 13.

The Task Force, chaired by Senator Thomas M. Middleton and Delegate David D. Rudolph, was convened to study the availability and affordability of personal and commercial property and casualty insurance in coastal areas in Maryland.

Local Hospital Honored

BALTIMORE -- Five Maryland hospitals and one nurse were honored for their environmental health achievements with awards at the Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment’s 5th Annual Environmental Excellence in Health Care Conference, held this month at the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the Maryland Hospital Association, presented the hospitals with Trailblazer Awards, which are given annually to hospitals that have shown leadership in advancing sustainability in their operations.

Among the winners was Deer’s Head Hospital Center, the first state hospital to win a Trailblazer Award, Deer’s Head demonstrated a reduction in its fuel usage, by developing an environmentally friendly method to manage utilities. Through an extensive energy management program, Deer’s Head will save more than 50 percent on utilities in the upcoming year.

Others honored were Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), MedStar Union Memorial Hospital (MUMH), Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) and Charlotte Wallace, RN.

Wallace is a pediatric nurse and sustainability coordinator for Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) and was awarded the Nursing Leadership in Environmental Health Award. Wallace is one of only two nurses in the state to hold a sustainability position in a medical system. She has implemented many environmental initiatives at AAMC, including money-saving recycling programs, a farmers’ market, and the addition of environmental health information in newborn classes.

New Doctors Announced
SALISBURY -- Peninsula Regional Medical Center has announced new staff memberships.

Jodi I. Pike, MD, was recently granted associate staff membership with clinical privileges in the Department of Pediatrics, specializing in pediatric cardiology, at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. Pike is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology, and is employed by Children’s National Medical Center. Her services in pediatric cardiology at Peninsula Regional are made possible by a collaboration of PRMC and Children’s National Medical Center’s Pediatric Cardiology Telemedicine Service.

Kevin Thomas, DPM, has been granted clinical privilege in the Department of Surgery, Division of Podiatry at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury. Thomas is board-certified in podiatry. He is joining the Peninsula Wound & Hyperbaric Center at Peninsula Regional, and also has offices in Berlin and Salisbury.

John H. Hedger, MD, was recently granted active staff membership with clinical a privileges in the Department of Surgery, for Advanced Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine, Division of Orthopedics at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury. Hedger is board-certified in orthopedics, and specializes in wound care and hyperbaric medicine. He has joined has joined the Peninsula Wound Care Center at Peninsula Regional.