LEONARDTOWN, Md. — St. Mary’s County has been awarded a state grant that officials say will allow the county to launch a new Mobile Integrated Health program aimed at expanding how residents receive care outside traditional emergency settings.
The announcement was made during the St. Mary’s County Emergency Services Board meeting on Aug. 12.
County EMS Chief Shawn Davidson said the grant is part of a broader initiative known as St. Mary’s 360 and will help the county establish a Mobile Integrated Health program. He said officials learned of the award the day before the meeting.
“We found out yesterday that we got awarded for that,” Davidson told the board. “So that is super exciting.”
Davidson said the St. Mary’s County Health Department led much of the work behind the grant application and that Emergency Services is expected to take part in the program’s development.
“It’s the St. Mary’s 360 is the overarching plan for that, but it’s going to facilitate us actually being able to stand up a mobile integrated health program in St. Mary’s County,” Davidson said.
Program Could Expand Care Beyond Emergency Transport
Mobile Integrated Health programs generally use emergency medical services personnel and other health partners to provide care in the community rather than relying solely on traditional 911 responses and hospital transport.
However, officials did not provide detailed information during the meeting about exactly how the St. Mary’s County program will operate, which residents will qualify, when services will begin or how much grant funding was awarded.
Davidson credited Dr. Brewster and the St. Mary’s County Health Department for leading the grant effort.
“Congratulations to Dr. Brewster and the folks at the health department who did the lion’s share of the legwork on that,” Davidson said.
The program had been discussed previously by the Emergency Services Board. Minutes from the board’s June 10 meeting show Davidson reported that Emergency Services and the Health Department were working together to seek grant funding to establish a Mobile Integrated Health program for the community.
The Aug. 12 announcement confirms that effort has now received funding.
Additional details, including the amount of the grant, a launch timeline and the specific services that will be offered, were not provided during the meeting.
Watch the full meeting below.
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