Page 43 - Garrett County 2021-2022 Visitors Guide

Quality of Life: HEALTH CARE
Excellent Health Care Options
FOR RESIDENTS, VISITORS
The expanded center allows a more holistic approach to cancer care, including survivor meetups, cosmetology services, a library for patient research and larger procedure rooms.
The main campus of GRMC has 55 inpatient beds, a four-bed intensive care unit, a 10-bed subacute rehabilitation unit, maternity care, a 13-bed outpatient surgical unit with a four-bed surgical suite and around-the-clock emergency services. The hospital’s laboratory, radiology and respiratory departments are equipped with the latest technology.
Additional medical resources can be found through Garrett County Community Action Committee programs. Garrett County Community Action (garrettcac. org) provides access to various educational programs, workshops, health assistance and transportation services.
Mountain Laurel Medical Center (mtnlaurel. org), with locations in Oakland and Grantsville, follows the Patient Centered Medical Home model, which is designed to put patients at the heart of health care decisions and improve coordination across care settings. Mountain Laurel’s efforts to boost health care quality and access have earned it recognition as both a Health Center Quality Leader and a National Quality Leader for Diabetes Health by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.
Last year, Mountain Laurel opened a two-story, 4,020-square-foot addition to its Oakland facility. The new space features five exam rooms and a full-service lab. The second level includes a conference room, where classes
on diabetes management and insurance counseling will be held. The expansion’s
goal, according to the medical center, was to “provide complete, comprehensive primary care to all people of Garrett County and the surrounding areas, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.” Mountain Laurel also provides annual physical exams, chronic-illness treatment and preventive services.
Wellspring Family Medicine (wellspringfm. com) is a physician-owned practice that provides comprehensive primary care at three locations, two in Oakland (including a walk-in clinic) and one in Accident. Brookside Health & Wellness (brooksidehealthandwellness. com) is a nurse-managed health center
that diagnoses, treats and manages all health problems.
For the convenience of visitors and locals alike, UPMC Urgent Care in McHenry (wmhs.com/ locations/upmc-urgent-care-mchenry) is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The urgent care center also offers primary care and is connected to the world-renowned University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Two highly rated medical centers, an innovation-minded health department and easy access to primary and specialty care make Garrett County a great place to take care of your health.
At the same time, the county’s rural location has kept it isolated from some of the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of this writing, Garrett County had the lowest count of COVID-19 cases of any Maryland county, and only one COVID-related death had been recorded.
Even before COVID, public health was a
major priority for the Garrett County Health Department. The department is nationally renowned for its innovative Garrett County Planning Tool (mygarrettcounty.com), an interactive platform that has won numerous national awards for connecting the community’s most disadvantaged residents with needed care and tracking progress on public health measures. In 2019, the department was honored with a Model Practice Award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
In addition to its planning tool, the health department (garretthealth.org) promotes
individual and environmental health through a wide range of educational programs, medical treatments and disease prevention, detection and awareness services.
The Garrett Regional Medical Center (GRMC, grmc-wvumedicine.org), an affiliate of WVU Medicine, is ranked as one of Maryland’s best hospitals and was named a Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital by The Chartis Center for Rural Health in both 2019 and 2020. In its national rating of hospitals’ quality of care,
the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded GRMC five out of five stars. The most common rating for hospitals is three stars. In September, Becker’s Hospital Review named GRMC as one of the top five hospitals in Maryland for patient experience.
Earlier this year, GRMC opened Garrett Family Medicine, a new primary care facility in Oakland. It is located in the practice space of a family physician who recently retired, ensuring continuity of primary care access for Oakland-area residents.
In December 2019, GRMC opened a 2,515-square-foot expansion of its WVU Medicine James & Shirley Bailey Cancer Center.
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PHOTO BY KRISTEN FISCHETTI – HIGHER FOCUS STUDIOS