Interprofessional Care Transitions Clinic
November 28, 2017
Cheverly Family Health and Wellness Center
Good morning, everyone. I’m Jay Perman, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and it’s terrific to have you here as we celebrate the University of Maryland Interprofessional Care Transitions Clinic.
This clinic is possible only because of partnership. So many of us saw a tremendous need among patients here in Prince George’s County—patients who were transitioning out of hospital care; patients who ran the risk of ultimately being readmitted because they had no safety net protecting them, no team of people who understood their unique challenges and how to manage them.
We saw this enormous need—but that’s not all we saw. We also saw a path forward—together—a better way to care for this community, a way to connect patients with the primary caregivers they need, a way to assemble around these patients a team of professionals who can integrate the kind of treatment and services that promote health and well-being. We saw a way to keep patients out of the hospital—out of the emergency department—and in their home communities, which is almost always best for the patient and best for a well-functioning health care system.
We owe a huge debt to our partner in this clinic: University of Maryland Capital Region Health, under the leadership of its president and CEO, Mr. Neil Moore. Thank you.
We owe a debt, as well, to the State for its support of this clinic and the people of Prince George’s County. We’re greatly honored to have with us today Dr. Howard Haft, Maryland’s deputy secretary for public health.
We’re grateful to the county’s elected officials, who have been pushing for true innovation in health care delivery for a long time. Del. Jay Walker is here with us this morning. I thank him and his fellow leaders for their support.
To the staff of Prince George’s Hospital Center, I’m grateful for your partnership. And, of course, I thank the University of Maryland Medical System and its CEO, Mr. Bob Chrencik.
I mentioned that this clinic is designed around a team approach to health care delivery. And that team involves several of our schools at the University of Maryland, Baltimore: our School of Pharmacy, our School of Nursing, our School of Social Work, and our School of Law.
This rich representation is critical, because we know that collaboration among a health care team is essential for vulnerable patients. When you have patients who are suffering from chronic disease, who are on multiple medications, and who confront serious challenges to wellness—whether that’s poverty, age, addiction, homelessness—then you need a team that’s equipped to offer targeted care and counsel, a team of pharmacists, nurse practitioners, social workers, and lawyers. You must give these patients what they need to stay healthy—in the most inclusive sense of the word.
Dr. Jane Kirschling, dean of our School of Nursing, and Dr. Rick Barth, dean of our School of Social Work, are with us today, and I thank them for their guidance.
This clinic is supported with funds from the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission, and I thank the commission and its executive director, Mr. Mark Luckner, for believing in the clinic’s purpose—and its potential to transform health care in Prince George’s County.
Finally, I want to mention that this clinic brings together existing community resources to provide these wraparound services: the Governor’s Wellmobile, run by our School of Nursing; and the e-Health Center, run by our School of Pharmacy. I thank everyone involved with these programs for ensuring that no patient is left behind.
That really is why we’re here today, to ensure that all patients—including the most vulnerable among us—can access the care and services they need, to ensure that no one falls through the cracks of our health care system.
And I truly hope that what we do here in Prince George’s County can eventually be a model that’s replicated across the state. Because this kind of innovation, and collaboration, and care—that’s what all Marylanders deserve.
