LEONARDTOWN, MD (May 16, 2024) – The St. Mary’s County Health Department (SMCHD) hosted a site visit for Maryland’s Commission on Public Health on April 19, 2024.
The visit highlighted some of the local public health initiatives of SMCHD and tours of both the St. Mary’s County Health Hub and the Spring Ridge Middle School-Based Health Center. The Health Hub offers a wide range of services, including behavioral health screening, crisis counseling, a jail diversion program, community mediation, and primary care medical services. The School-Based Health Centers – located at Spring Ridge Middle School and Margaret Brent Middle School – offer routine and urgent medical care, rapid testing and treatment for colds and chronic illnesses, sports physicals, and treatment of minor injuries for SMCPS students and employees during school hours and for all community members after school dismissal.
“We were honored to welcome members of the Commission on Public Health to Maryland’s mother county and highlight the work of our local health department,” said Dr. Meena Brewster, St. Mary’s County Health Officer. “This site visit was an opportunity for the Commission to better understand local public health in Maryland and how important it is for local health departments to be able to navigate the unique needs of their jurisdictions.”
Maryland’s Commission on Public Health is tasked with studying the foundational public health capabilities of state and local health departments in Maryland and the state’s ability to respond to major public health challenges. The Commission will make recommendations for reform in several areas, including the organization of public health departments; information technology, information exchange, and data analytics; workforce; procurement; funding; and communication and public engagement.
For more information on the Maryland Commission on Public Health, please visit smchd.org/CommissionOnPublicHealth.
To learn more about the St. Mary’s County Health Hub, visit hub.smchd.org.
To learn more about the School-Based Health Centers, visit smchd.org/sbhc.
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