Theresa Diefendorf of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Ocean City, Steven Parsons of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty in Ocean City, and CAR President Don Bailey and Kristy Thomas, both of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Salisbury, were among the local attendees to CAR’s Technology Fair last month. Submitted Photo
Technology Fair Held
OCEAN CITY – The Coastal Association of REALTORS® (CAR) held its second annual Technology Fair on Thursday, April 27 at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City.
The event featured over 25 vendors and six workshops designed to help real estate professionals better serve their clients and be more successful with the use of modern technology. Over 140 real estate professionals, both locally and from across the state and Delaware, attended the event.
Drawings were held for prizes from various sponsors and vendors, as well as for door prizes compliments of the association and its sponsors, including a $400 Visa Gift Card, a Circle Home Security Camera, and an Amazon Echo.
The association conducted a corn hole game and nail guessing contest throughout the event to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. The event ended with a Happy Hour with complimentary beverages and hors d’oeuvres.
“This year’s Technology Fair was larger and more heavily attended than last year’s, and we expect the event will continue to grow each year,” said CAR President Don Bailey. “A big thanks to this year’s Technology Committee and to staff for their hard work on this event. It’s a great networking and educational opportunity for local real estate professionals.”
Telemedicine Expands
BERLIN – Residents of the lower Eastern Shore who may require advanced lung surgery, including those with diagnosed or suspected cancers, will soon be able to meet with leading experts in thoracic surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore without leaving the shore.
These video teleconferencing consultations are starting this month thanks to an expanded telemedicine partnership between UMMC and Atlantic General Hospital (AGH) in Berlin. UMMC, the University of Maryland Medical System’s academic medical center, already provides around-the-clock remote monitoring of ICU patients at AGH as part of the University of Maryland eCare network.
By video teleconferencing, UMMC thoracic surgeons will virtually consult with a patient at AGH and review CT scans and other tests to see if he or she is a surgical candidate. The entire work-up and pre-operative consultation is done locally. If a surgical procedure is needed, it will be performed at UMMC.
“There are numerous articles in the lung cancer literature that show, when surgery is done at an academic medical center, patients have longer survival and fewer complications, compared to those who receive surgery at nonacademic centers. By teaming with UMMC, we can offer our patients on the Eastern Shore the highest quality care in a community setting,” said Peter Costantini, M.D., pulmonologist with Atlantic General Health System.
Six surgeons in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at UMMC will take part in the program. All of the surgeries will take place at UMMC, which is also home to the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC), a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center.
“We expect that these appointments will be very much like a patient visit in our office here in Baltimore,” says Joseph Friedberg, M.D., the Charles Reid Edwards Professor of Surgery and Head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Thoracic Surgeon-in-Chief of the University of Maryland Medical System. “We want this experience to be very convenient for patients and to decrease some of the stress they are experiencing related to their diagnosis.”
AGH President and CEO Michael Franklin said, “Living on the lower Eastern Shore has many advantages, but historically access to the most advanced specialty care has been difficult. Embracing telemedicine technology to bring specialists and care to the patient, rather than making patients travel several hours when they are not feeling well, creates the best of all worlds for those of us living in this great community.”
The program will include post-operative and follow-up telemedicine visits as well. UMMC surgeons will also take part in Atlantic General’s local Tumor Board, a multidisciplinary team of specialists who meet to discuss their patients’ cancer treatments.
Market Executive Appointed
BERLIN — Shore United Bank, a member of Shore Bancshares community of companies, has announced that W. Thomas “Tom” Mears, has joined the company as a market executive.
Tom Mears
Mears will be responsible for business development in Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset counties of Maryland and Accomack County in Virginia. He will lead a team of commercial banking professionals at their new Loan Production Office located in West Ocean City.
Mears is a graduate of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics. He is also a graduate of the University of Maryland Banking School, University of Oklahoma Commercial Banking School and Leadership Maryland.
Prior to joining Shore United Bank, Mears worked at Hampton Roads Bankshares Inc., as the president of commercial banking where he was responsible for the commercial banking functions for Shore Bank and the Bank of Hampton Roads.
Mears began his career in banking in 1989 as a management trainee with Peninsula Bank, later known as Mercantile Peninsula Bank, where he held various leadership positions as a branch manager, credit manager and a regional president and market executive. From January 2011 to February of 2016, Mears served as president and CEO of Shore Bank and president of Commercial Lending at Hampton Roads Bankshares, where he was responsible for commercial banking and loan production offices on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland.
“As we look to grow our community banking model to the lower shores of Maryland and Virginia, Tom’s experience and market knowledge will help us deliver integrated financial services to businesses that will help with the future growth of Shore United Bank,” said Pat Bilbrough, Shore United Bank President and CEO.
“It is important to be engaged in the mission of the bank and it is our responsibility to serve our clients to meet their financial needs. With 28 years of experience, I have a great deal of market knowledge that I hope to share with the families and businesses in the communities we serve,” said Mr. Mears.
Walk-Ins Offer Time Promise
BERLIN – Atlantic General Hospital and Health System’s walk-in clinics are now offering a 30-minute promise to the community: patients will begin to receive care within thirty minutes of arrival.
The healthcare organization decided to expand its 30 Minute ER Promise, initially offered to patients in Atlantic General’s ER beginning in 2007, to its Atlantic ImmediCare walk-in clinics as part of its 2020 Vision to provide the right care in the right place.
In many cases, costly emergency room visits can be avoided, if individuals have convenient access to primary care that fits their schedules.
“Atlantic ImmediCare is committed to providing timely, quality care. Our walk-ins are here for the community and its visitors so that they can receive the treatment they need, when they need it and with the least expense, and get back to their day,” said Andi West-McCabe, director of emergency and urgent care services at Atlantic General Hospital. “If, for some reason, we are unable to meet our promise, the patient will receive a small gift card as a token of our appreciation for their patience.”
Atlantic ImmediCare has two locations in Worcester County – Healthway Drive in Berlin, on the campus of Atlantic General Hospital, and on 10th Street in Ocean City. Both offer free, off-street parking and providing the convenience of a provider after hours or when a patient can’t see their own physician.
No appointment is necessary and both locations have extended hours, including weekends. Berlin is open seven days a week, year-round; Ocean City is open seven days a week, Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Both Atlantic ImmediCare locations provide treatment for common illnesses such as colds, the flu, ear aches, sore throats, headaches, sinus infections, urinary tract infections and more. The Ocean City location offers lab and x-ray services.