July 30 - August 5, 2020
Photo Courtesy Council Connections, Prince George's County Council Media
Children’s National Hospital Opens New Health Care Center in Prince George’s County
New 60,000 square foot facility gives families convenient access to expanded outpatient pediatric services
WASHINGTON (July 21, 2020) PRNewswire—Children's National Hospital today celebrated the opening of its new regional facility—Children’s National Prince George’s County—located within the Woodmore Towne Center in Lanham, Md. The new comprehensive pediatric outpatient and specialty care center provides families in Prince George’s County greater access to a broad range of services including: cardiology, neurology, hematology, allergy, and sports medicine and orthopaedics. Additionally, families will have easier access to care for infusions, transfusions, MRIs and outpatient surgery.
“Children’s National has long served the families of Prince George’s County. I’m proud that our new site brings many of our specialty services together at one location, making it easier for patients to receive high-quality care,” said Kurt Newman, M.D., president and CEO of Children’s National Hospital, during a ribbon cutting ceremony held this morning. “Our commitment to providing compassionate care extends to this site where each child will be cared for by a team of pediatric experts, ranked among the very best in the nation.”
Children’s National Prince George’s County, a 60,000 square foot facility, is the latest effort to ensure kids and their families can easily and conveniently access pediatric specialists and primary care providers. Providers [started] seeing patients at the new facility on Wednesday, July 22. An ambulatory surgery center will open in mid-August, and infusion services will be offered starting in November.
In a show of widespread support for this project, [the July 21 ceremony] ceremony was attended by city and state officials including Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks, Maryland State Senator Douglas J. J. Peters, Maryland State Senator Joanne C. Benson, Maryland State Delegate Andrea Harrison, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy, Prince George’s County Council Member (District 5) Jolene Ivey, Prince George’s County Council Member At-Larger Calvin Hawkins and Maryland State Delegate Geraldine Valentino-Smith.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has truly shown that access to quality health care is absolutely critical, not just for Prince Georgians, but all Americans,” said Alsobrooks. “We are excited to welcome this new regional facility of Children’s National Hospital to Prince George’s County, which will expand access to high-quality health care for children and families across our county.”
Braveboy praised the hospital for achieving this milestone.
“I am so excited this important project that I helped to lead when I was on staff at Children’s National is finally opening,” said Braveboy. “The regional outpatient center will be an integral part of the health care safety net for children and families in Prince George’s County and beyond.”
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, in video remarks, expressed appreciation for the positive impact the new facility will have on patients.
“Children’s National is a world renowned health care provider,” said Van Hollen. “We are very fortunate that Children’s National is opening this center in Prince George’s County to provide high-quality services for children in the area without the burden on families to have to travel long distances.”
Echoing the importance of having this care close to home was Valentino-Smith.
“When you live in Prince George’s County, you either have your own story or a close friend’s story as to how Children’s National was the place that helped diagnosis, treat, cure or comfort a sick child,” said Valentino-Smith. “Children’s National has always made sure our kids in Prince George’s County have access to world-class treatment and I am thrilled to see the new outpatient center open.”
Children’s National is ranked among the nation’s top ten pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. It is the only provider of care in Prince George’s County and in the Washington, D.C. region that is focused solely on children’s health.
Children’s National Hospital, based in Washington, D.C., celebrates 150 years of pediatric care, research and commitment to community. Volunteers opened the hospital in 1870 with 12 beds for children displaced after the Civil War. Today, 150 years stronger, it is among the nation’s top 10 children’s hospitals. It is ranked No. 1 for newborn care for the fourth straight year and ranked in all specialties evaluated by U.S. News & World Report. Children’s National is transforming pediatric medicine for all children. In 2020, construction will be complete on the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus, the first in the nation dedicated to pediatric research. Children’s National has been designated twice as a Magnet® hospital, demonstrating the highest standards of nursing and patient care delivery. This pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a convenient, community-based primary care network and specialty outpatient centers in the D.C., metropolitan area, including the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs. Children’s National is home to the Children’s National Research Institute and Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and is the nation’s seventh-highest NIH-funded children’s hospital. It is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional and national levels. For more information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Source: Children’s National Hospital
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First-of-its-kind Teacher Degree Program in MD to Boost Student Success
Bowie State to Begin Accepting Applications for the Spring 2021 Semester
By DAMITA CHAMBERS
Bowie State University
BOWIE, Md. (July 16, 2020)—Bowie State University’s first-of-its-kind teacher leadership degree program in Maryland will begin accepting applications for spring 2021 to prepare newly certified educators to design culturally relevant lessons and find strategies to improve student success.
The 12-month, accelerated Master of Culturally Responsive Teacher Leadership degree program is designed to produce problem-solving teachers who tailor their curriculum to the needs of their students. The program’s goal is to increase the number of Maryland educators who are effective in teaching the state’s most culturally and linguistically diverse students. A growing body of research shows that culturally responsive educators help to improve student outcomes by incorporating different learning styles.
This innovative degree program will prepare educators to use data to improve student learning and encourage them to become change agents in their schools, advocating for a culturally responsive approach to curriculum design and professional development for all teachers. Successful candidates may be top recent graduates from an accredited bachelor’s degree in education program or career changers with real-world experience in their profession.
“With this degree program, we want to help improve student learning by increasing the expertise of teachers and creating the opportunity for them to become teacher leaders,” said Dr. Wil Parker, a chief architect of the program and chair of the BSU Department of Educational Leadership. “We want educators to be solution-driven, being able to talk to school leaders and say, ‘This is what our students need. This is how we can support them.’”
With this degree program, Bowie State also seeks to recruit diverse new teachers to combat the nation’s historic shortages in the teacher workforce. Research suggests that diverse students benefit from having diverse educators, impacting their overall learning outcomes and experience in schools.
Since 1865, Bowie State has a legacy of producing high-quality educators, including several local teachers of the year. For the past two years, U.S. News & World Report ranked Bowie State’s graduate education programs among the nation’s best.
The Master of Culturally Responsive Teacher Leadership degree program has the potential to create a model curriculum for other colleges and universities to follow.
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Prince George’s County Leads State in Special Enrollments for Health Coverage
Residents who have lost health coverage may still be eligible to enroll in health insurance
By PRESS OFFICER
Prince George’s County Department of Social Services
LARGO, Md. (July 21, 2020)—Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced today that the County leads the entire State in Maryland Health Connection (MHC) enrollments following two special enrollment periods which ended on Wednesday, July 15. MHC is the State’s official health insurance marketplace, and the special enrollment periods began in late February for tax filers and in March for COVID-19. Of the 58,000 Marylanders that enrolled in health coverage during that period, nearly 11,000 came from Prince George’s County.
“When this pandemic began, we knew that lack of health insurance could negatively impact the well-being of our residents, so we are proud of our collective efforts to ensure Prince Georgians and Marylanders get covered,” said Alsobrooks. “We will continue our work, in partnership with State and federal partners, to ensure Prince Georgians have the resources they need during this public health emergency.”
In February 2020, the Maryland Health Insurance Easy Enrollment program was launched as the first of its kind in the nation. Tax filers were able to indicate if they had health insurance. The information was shared with the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange (MHBE), the parent of MHC, who contacted tax filers to make them aware of the insurance opportunity.
On March 16, the marketplace also opened a special enrollment period in response to the coronavirus pandemic. With support from Governor Larry Hogan and participating insurance providers, Maryland held one of the longest special enrollment periods in the nation.
“Maryland Health Connection was able to respond quickly to this global crisis and help our Maryland families get the health coverage they need,” says Michele Eberle, Executive Director of the MHBE.
Health insurance in Prince George’s County is provided through Prince George’s County Health Connect (PGC Health Connect), a program of Prince George’s County Department of Social Services (PGCDSS). PGC Health Connect is one of eight Connector Entities in Maryland. The program’s Navigators, many of whom are bilingual, provide guidance to applicants and are able to enroll residents into health insurance by telephone.
Prince George’s County residents who have lost health coverage due to job loss or have experienced other major life changes may still be eligible to enroll in health insurance within 60 days of the loss of coverage. Medicaid enrollment is ongoing throughout the year.
To explore health insurance options to “Get Covered,” call PGC Health Connect, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 301-927-4500, 240-719-2167, or the health hotline at We Are CASA at 301-270-8432 or 240-270-1318. Bilingual navigators are available to assist consumers directly over the telephone.
To enroll online, visit MarylandHealthConnection.gov or call 855-642-8572 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. The free “Enroll MHC” mobile app is also available for downloading.
Maryland Health Benefit Exchange: (MHBE) is a public corporation and independent unit of the state government. It was established in 2011 in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) and is responsible for the administration of Maryland Health Connection.
Maryland Health Connection: One of every six Marylanders receive their health coverage through Maryland Health Connection (MHC), the state-based health insurance marketplace. Residents can compare and enroll in health insurance as well as determine eligibility for Medicaid or financial help with private plans.
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