New Doctor Announced
BERLIN – Atlantic General Hospital announced Dr. Christopher Farrell has joined Atlantic General Health System to provide advanced orthopedic care to the lower Eastern Shore.
Dr. Christopher Farrell
A subspecialist in hip and knee replacement, Farrell has more than 20 years of extensive experience in the field and has been board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery since 2008.
Farrell was a fellow in adult reconstruction at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, N.Y., after completing a knee fellowship in adult reconstruction and sports medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, also in New York.
Farrell graduated from Georgetown University Medical School in Washington, D.C., before entering his orthopedic surgery residency at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, in Rochester, Minn. He joins Dr. M. Sean Hooker in practice at Atlantic General Orthopedic Surgery and will provide surgical procedures at Atlantic General Hospital’s Center for Joint Surgery.
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Worcester Rebranding Campaign Honored
SNOW HILL — Worcester County Recreation and Parks, Tourism, and Economic Development (RPTED) took home the Best Media Campaign and Best Website Awards at the 40th annual Maryland Tourism & Travel Summit in November.
In the midst of a pandemic, RPTED professionals devised and launched a complete rebranding of these recently consolidated departments. This fully-integrated campaign was completed in just over a year and includes a media, marketing, and PR campaign, Welcome to Maryland’s Coast – Worcester County. This rebranding won the Best Media Campaign Award.
“We initiated a strategic planning and branding process to strengthen the county’s identity and integrate destination marketing and business attraction/retention,” Tourism and Economic Development Director Melanie Pursel said. “Despite a nationwide quarantine that shuttered travel and restricted business, the team moved forward and developed Maryland’s Coast…Naturally Cool. With the official brand launch in October of 2020, the real work began. All of the television, radio, outdoor, print, and web needed to be completely updated with the new brand. We are still expanding to other parts of our county, truly embodying the Live, Work, Play concept!”
Under the umbrella of RPTED, county staff also created a new website, which won the Best Website Award. This site redirects visitors to each of the three RPTED sites. These are ‘Visit’ to the tourism website, ‘Choose’ to the economic development website, or ‘Play’ to the recreation and parks website.”
“This web address encourages people to learn more about Maryland’s Coast, the only place in Maryland where the ocean meets the land,” Pursel said.
In addition to providing visitors with people, places, activities, and events of interest, the sites are important tools for county staff. For example, the tourism website alone provides analytic reports that identify the number of visitors who are viewing the new website. During May 2021 there were over 8,300 visits, with over 15,700 views. Also accompanying the new website and newly-branded Visitor’s Guide is a new Go Coastal app.
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Local Restaurant Group Co-Founder Will Retire
OCEAN CITY – Off the Hook Restaurant Group announced this week Kevin Frey, co-founder and owner of Off The Hook, Just Hooked, Tailchasers, Hooked, and Hooked Up Raw Bar & Ale House as well as Taste Events, has announced his retirement.
Co-Founder and business partner Steve Hagen will move into his new role as owner/operator upon Frey’s retirement on Dec. 1.
“We want to thank Kevin for his many years of outstanding service and commitment to Off The Hook Restaurant Group,” said Hagen. “His stewardship and passion for our brands have earned him the trust and respect of each and every one of our employees and has left an indelible imprint on this Company. We wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”
Off The Hook Restaurant Group was founded in 2010 and has grown its portfolio to include five restaurants (Off The Hook, Just Hooked, Hooked, Tailchasers and Hooked Up) and a catering company (Taste Events). The mission is to serve the local community of Delmarva with “Farm to Table” dining in a high service, creative and comfortable atmosphere. Frey and Hagen built these companies from scratch with sheer determination and a tremendous amount of hard work from their employees and associates.
“It has been my honor and privilege to work with our dedicated and passionate team for the past 10 years,” said Frey. “Now is the appropriate time for me to retire from Off The Hook Restaurant Group and for Steve to drive the company into the future. We have built five strong concepts and I am so proud of the culture and quality people that make our restaurant group exceptional. I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication that we have received from our employees, both past and present. I have tremendous respect for Steve and I am confident that he will lead Off Hook Group to new heights for our teams and our guests.”
Business will continue as usual at all locations.
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Superintendent Named
Michael Hutchinson
SNOW HILL – The Worcester County Commissioners appointed Michael Hutchinson as the new superintendent within the Maintenance Division of Public Works.
“Mike is thoroughly familiar with Worcester County’s facilities,” Public Works Director Dallas Baker said. “His knowledge of building maintenance management and attention to detail make him the perfect choice as the new superintendent.”
Hutchinson, who joined Worcester County Government (WCG) as the maintenance supervisor in 2013, brings 29 years of experience in management to his new position. Prior to joining WCG, he served as the HVAC engineer at Wor-Wic Community College and as operations foreman for West Windsor Plainsboro Regional School District in New Jersey. He earned certification as an educational facilities manager from Rutgers University and as a stationary engineer from the State of Maryland.
As superintendent, Hutchinson is directly responsible for planning, directing, and administering the day-to-day operations for the Maintenance and Mosquito Control Divisions. He also supervises and directs the overall management of the maintenance and repair activities for Worcester County facilities and grounds.
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Hospital Earns Recognition
SALISBURY — TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury is one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Vascular Surgery, according to new research released by Healthgrades, the leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems. This is the eighth consecutive year that TidalHealth Peninsula Regional has been designated among America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Vascular Surgery (2015-2022).
Additionally, for the sixth consecutive year (2017-2022), TidalHealth Peninsula Regional is in the top 10% of all United States hospitals for overall orthopedic services, and the recipient of the Healthgrades Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award for the same six-year period.
“TidalHealth’s greatest asset is our team of employees, medical staff, and volunteers. Our Healthgrades clinical successes are a direct result of their dedication and devotion to every patient and family member,” said TidalHealth CEO Steven Leonard.
Every year, Healthgrades evaluates hospital performance at nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide for 31 of the most common inpatient procedures and conditions. For its analysis, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 45 million Medicare inpatient records for nearly 4,500 short-term acute care hospitals nationwide to assess hospital performance in 31 common conditions and procedures. Hospitals cannot choose to opt in our out of a Healthgrades performance review.
The hospitals that have achieved the Healthgrades America’s Best Hospitals or Clinical Excellence designations have demonstrated exceptional quality of care.
“Consumers can feel confident in these hospitals for their commitment to quality care and exceptional outcomes. The recognition helps provide peace of mind when selecting a place for care,” said Brad Bowman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Data Science at Healthgrades.
Additionally, TidalHealth Peninsula Regional earned 13 5-star designations for the care provided to patients. The Healthgrades 5-star ranking indicates those service lines are performing statistically significantly better than their peer services at other U.S. hospitals.