Howard Health Forum Highlights Challenges and Successes

Health professionals in Howard County recently held a forum to discuss the future direction of health care services in the county, as models for service delivery nationwide are being modernized.

The Baltimore Sun reports:

Howard County’s local health initiatives must adapt as the national health care model shifts to more digital-friendly care and more patients struggle with chronic illnesses, according to local and state health care leaders and professionals.

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Health care must adapt by shifting from “episodic” care that requires longer patient wait times to care with “constant patient engagement,” Pollack said, joining other health care professionals at a forum organized by the county’s Local Health Improvement Coalition Thursday.

The coalition, a group of more than 40 organizations focused on addressing health disparities and improving health and wellness in the county, formed in 2011.

The article notes health challenges the county faces including untreated chronic illness in the homeless population and frequent use of emergency rooms for standard care. It also highlights some of the programs launched in the county to address these and other disparities. For instance telehealth care in county schools, and coordinated overdose response and recovery partnerships between the county health department and public safety departments.

Read The Baltimore Sun to learn more.

At this year’s MACo Winter Conference, you can learn about best practices and challenges related to improving public health in Maryland at the “The Power and Perils of Public Health” session and hear more about county specific programs at the “Sowing Seeds for Strong Communities” session.

The MACo Winter Conference will be held December  7-9, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Hotel in Cambridge, Maryland. This year the conference’s theme is “An Ounce of Prevention.”

Learn more about MACo’s Winter Conference: