Cecil, Queen Anne’s Counties Win MACo Healthy Counties Best Practices Awards

Congratulations to Cecil County’s Peer Recovery Advocate Program and the Mobile Integrated Community Health Pilot Program of Queen Anne’s County! Both counties have won a MACo President’s Healthy Counties Best Practices Award.

This award, started by Prince George’s County Council Member and MACo Past President Ingrid Turner, recognizes county programs that contribute to the overall health and quality of life of a Maryland county. Many great programs were nominated, but only 2 winners can be selected.

  • Peer Recovery Advocate Program – Cecil County
    The Cecil County Peer Recovery Advocate Program provides early intervention to people with substance abuse problems by creating a relationship between a Peer Recovery Advocate and identified at-risk patients in the local hospital. The Peer Recover Advocate meets with the patient to discuss addiction and the resources available to help them in recovery. These one-on-one relationships have provided much needed support and encouragement to a person with the addiction from a “peer” – someone who has been through exactly what they have and has been successful in recovery. The Peer Recovery Advocates provide guidance on what programs exist, where to seek treatment, and a “warm hand-off” where they actually accompany the patient from the hospital to the Health Department to enroll in treatment. Much of the success of this program is due to dedicated advocates and the excellent collaboration with and commitment from Union Hospital in Elkton.
  • Mobile Integrated Community Health (MICH) Pilot Program – Queen Anne’s County
    In an effort to identify members of the community that are underserved and connect them with public health resources that are underutilized, a partnership was formed between Queen Anne’s County Department of Health and the Queen Anne’s County Department of Emergency Services. With this newfound partnership and through the use of multi-agency collaboration, the Mobile Integrated Community Health (MICH) Pilot Program was born. The MICH Program operates by utilizing data obtained from 911 and emergency dispatch services along with observations and interactions experienced from EMS field providers (Paramedics and EMTs) to identify people who, due to barriers to care, are at a high risk for declining physical or mental health and may benefit from one or more of the resources offered by the Department of Health. After a comprehensive assessment by a Nurse Practitioner and a Paramedic, barriers to medical and mental health-care are identified and existing social, medical, mental health, transportation, and nutrition resources are considered for utilization. With the goal of improving the patient’s quality of life, the MICH team works together to break down the identified barriers to care by linking the patient with the appropriate public health resources.

Other nominees included:

    • Commission on Excellence – Anne Arundel County
    •  Cage Farm Wetland Creation Project – Calvert County
    • Frederick WORKS! One Job at a Time – Frederick County

More information is available about all of our award nominees.

Congratulations to our award winners and nominees! MACo was thrilled to see such great work being done to improve the overall health – economic, medical, and environmental – of our counties.

Awards will be presented at MACo’s Winter Conference Inaugural Ceremony and Awards Banquet on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at the Hyatt in Cambridge, MD.

Learn more about MACo’s Winter Conference:

Questions? Contact Meetings & Events Director Virginia White.