University of Maryland Medical System

"I'm not going to get better. I'm not going to live longer unless there's research." That is how Dr. Andrea Levine, a critical care physician at University of Maryland Medical Center, describes what is at stake, in her own words. Diagnosed with brain cancer when she was six months pregnant, she now knows the science from both sides: as a physician who has spent her career at the bedside, and as a patient placing her hope in what research might make possible. This year, Dr. Levine walked in the 18th annual Maryland Half Marathon & 5K to support research at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she is being treated. "I'm really hopeful that continued advances in science will allow me to go farther and farther," she said. For now, she feels great, and medication is keeping her cancer at bay. Her story is a reminder that research is never abstract. For patients like Dr. Levine, it is the difference between time lost and time gained. Read her full story, via WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore: https://lnkd.in/eM487GG9

The strongest healthcare teams are built on more than what happens inside the hospital. Last week, the team at UM Capital Region Health traded scrubs for ballcaps at their annual Sponsored Game Night with the Chesapeake Baysox, a night of community spirit, connection, and team pride under the stadium lights. One standout moment: the ceremonial first pitch, thrown by Nathan Riha, son of UM Capital's Director of Ambulatory Services, Christin Riha. He took the mound to represent the team and delivered a great one. Across our system, moments like these are part of what make a workplace a community, and what makes our people proud to be part of it.

Sometimes the view from the office is just better than others. This week, Sail250 brought two of the world's most celebrated flight teams over our Baltimore tower: the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the Royal Air Force Red Arrows, painting the harbor sky in red, white, and blue. A fitting tribute for a city with a proud maritime history, and one we are proud to call home. Great shots from right over our building. Thanks, Baltimore.

Five stars. The highest rating a hospital can earn from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This year, four of our hospitals reached it. The CMS star ratings measure what matters most to patients: mortality, safety of care, readmissions, patient experience, and timely, effective treatment. A five-star rating means a hospital is performing at the very top across those measures, and four of ours are. Ratings like these are not handed out. They are earned, shift after shift, by teams who refuse to treat patient safety as anything less than the priority. We are proud of the result, and prouder still of the people behind it. This is what building a stronger, healthier Maryland looks like.

You'll know him by the red shoes. Drew Jordre is a physical therapist at the University of Maryland Medical Center R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. The shoes are a signature. They are not the story. The story is what happens on the floor every day. The community he builds with teammates and patients. The moment as a student that set the course for everything that followed. The reason he calls it adaptive always. Drew is the kind of team member who makes academic medicine what it is. Swipe through to meet him.

Creating a true atmosphere of belonging is not a campaign. It is a commitment, and it shows up in where an organization chooses to stand. This year, alongside University of Maryland Medical Center and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, we were proud sponsors of Baltimore Pride, joining the parade and the two-day festival. Our team members were there to celebrate alongside the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, including many within our own workforce. That presence reflects something central to who we are. We are committed to an environment where our patients, our team members, and our communities all feel seen, respected, and cared for. When people feel they belong, they bring their full selves to their care and their work, and that makes everything we do better. To our team members and the community, we celebrated with "You belong here." Photos courtesy of Kaylin Webster Photography.

A regular day at UM Capital Region Health got a little brighter this week. Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Christian Okoye and former Kansas City Chiefs running back Barry Word made a surprise visit, signing autographs, taking photos, and sharing their energy with team members and visitors across the hospital. The two were in the area ahead of the Men’s Health Summit, a community event Okoye is supporting as a special guest. But for one afternoon, the focus was simply on connection, a reminder that moments like these, the unexpected and the joyful, are part of what makes a hospital a community. Thank you to Christian Okoye and Barry Word for taking the time to visit our team.

Caring for our communities does not stop at the hospital doors. Recently, our Accounts Payable team swapped invoices for trash bags and spent the day volunteering along the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail, clearing litter to help keep one of the region's most-used green spaces clean and welcoming. The effort was coordinated with Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails. It is a reminder of something we believe across our system: every team plays a role in the health of our communities, including those whose work usually happens behind the scenes. Thank you to our AP team for giving their time and energy to this one.

In critical care transport, the line between a good outcome and a tragedy often comes down to preparation. The Maryland ExpressCare team trains well beyond standard protocols because the patients they serve and the circumstances they face rarely follow a predictable path. Continuous, rigorous training is what allows them to manage advanced interventions in motion and adapt to whatever a mission demands. Interested in a role with Maryland ExpressCare? Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ev4F49DT

Behind every great stroke outcome is a team that moved fast. Meet some of ours. When a man arrived at our emergency department with signs of stroke caused by a blocked vessel in his brain, this team went to work. Imaging and clot-busting treatment within 31 minutes. A seamless handoff to University of Maryland Medical Center, where specialists performed a thrombectomy to remove the clot in 92 minutes. He arrived with a moderate stroke and was discharged with no measurable neurological effects. "Our team and UMMC's team gave this person his life back," said Shellee Stine, clinical programs coordinator. "Our Stroke Heroes did a phenomenal job getting the patient to CT in a timely fashion and getting everything done as quickly as possible." This is what coordinated stroke care looks like across our system. Fast recognition, fast treatment, and a team that treats every second as the difference it truly is.