Program Donation
BERLIN – Last month, the Atlantic General Hospital (AGH) Junior Auxiliary Group (JAG) hosted their annual Tacos, Tiaras and Sombreros FUNdraiser event.
The $5,000 raised from the event was donated to AGH’s upcoming Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Program.
The Certified Nursing Assistant Program, which is currently awaiting approval from the Maryland Board of Nursing, was initiated in response to the need for certified nursing assistants in the health care workforce at Atlantic General Hospital.
The program will consist of six students who will apply from the general public. The program is a seven-week training, comprised of classroom, clinical skills lab and hands-on patient care on the Med/Surg inpatient units. The first session is projected to start in April or May of 2023.
This program will be offered cost-free to the student, with an agreement that the student will commit to one year of service as a CNA with Atlantic General Hospital once the program is completed.
Atlantic General Hospital has been providing quality health care to the residents of Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset and Sussex counties since May 1993.
Built by the commitment and generosity of a dedicated community, the hospital’s state-of-the-art facility in Berlin, Md., combines compassion and expertise with the latest in technology and services. Atlantic General Health System, its network of more than 25 primary care provider and specialist offices, cares for residents and visitors throughout the region.
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Scholarship Announced
SALISBURY – Tom Draper helped shaped the lives of virtually every resident on the Delmarva Peninsula as the owner of WBOC-TV and other broadcast stations until his sudden death in 2017.
Now, his legacy will continue to shape the lives of Salisbury University students through the newly announced Thomas H. Draper Scholarship. The award is the result of a $125,000 gift from the Draper Holdings Charitable Foundation, an organization created by Draper and his family to support educational, scientific, religious and humanitarian initiatives throughout Delmarva.
“Even those who may not have known Tom Draper by name felt his influence,” said Jason Curtin, vice president of university advancement and external affairs, and executive director of the SU Foundation, Inc. “At SU, that influence was particularly strong as generations of students went on to work for Mr. Draper and his companies.
Curtin continued, “His broadcast outlets also have been instrumental in promoting SU news and events for more than four decades. This scholarship is a fitting tribute for a man who meant so much to SU and to the greater Delmarva community. Even today, he continues to make a difference in the lives of our students.”
“Our family is honored to continue the partnership that our father started with Salisbury University,” said Draper’s daughter, Mariah Calagione, president of the Draper Holdings Charitable Foundation. “The school has educated many of our past and current employees and has created space for learning, culture and athletics in our community. We are excited that this scholarship will support future students attending the University, knowing that they will certainly enrich our society.”
Draper was raised in Milford, Del., and called the Delmarva Peninsula home for most of his life. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Brown University, where he was named an All-American lacrosse player and inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame, he returned to Sussex County, Del.
There, in 1967, he began his broadcasting career, purchasing a radio station and changing its call letters to WTHD — for “Thomas Henry Draper.” In 1973, he added WAFL-FM. Seven years later, in 1980, he purchased WBOC.
The TV station quickly became a cornerstone of Draper Media, a division of the Draper Holdings Business Trust, with later additions including Fox 21, WBOC Classics (Antenna TV), WBOC-FM and WBOC Digital. Shortly before his death, just days after celebrating his 50th year in broadcasting, he was preparing to launch Telemundo Delmarva.
Today, Draper Media also includes WRDE-TV, Delmarva Sports Network and a host of radio stations based on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Other entities in the Draper Holdings Business Trust include the real estate holding company Loblolly, LLC.
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Development Nears
SALISBURY – The City of Salisbury and Davis Strategic Development are proud to announce the acquisition and upcoming development of the shuttered Campbell Soup factory at 510 West Rd.
Acquired by Davis Strategic Development in late 2022, the 310,000-square-foot space will be utilized by a number of local businesses and anchored by Chesapeake Shipbuilding as a secondary location for their building operations, joining their current facility at 710 Fitzwater St.
The first phase of construction is already underway, including demolition of roughly 60,000 square feet of unusable space, construction of new offices, installation of new lighting and HVAC, and repairs to the existing equipment.
“This is the largest blighted building Salisbury has ever had, making it our highest priority in revitalizing this community,” says Bret Davis, owner of Davis Strategic Development. “We hope to bring back some of the jobs lost from its closing decades ago.”
The building’s first tenant since 1993 and one of Salisbury’s largest employers, the expansion will allow Chesapeake Shipbuilding to store additional materials, increase their output, and expand their workforce. In the future, they hope to build smaller vessels on site.
“This acquisition is a clear symbol of growth for our City – a 310,000-square-foot factory, shuttered for nearly three decades, opening its doors once again to a new industry.,” said Mayor Jake Day. “When our homegrown businesses are outgrowing their headquarters, I consider that a sign of success.”
Davis Strategic Development plans to redevelop the site into a mix of housing, retail, community space, and other concepts in about a decade, after a short-term stabilization plan is completed. In order to ensure the site is being used and not decaying further, initial construction efforts will be completed in the next two to three years.
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Lab Accreditation
SALISBURY – The Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) have awarded accreditations to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional clinical laboratory based on results of recent on-site inspections as part of the CAP and AABB Accreditation Programs.
“Our laboratory’s accreditation by both organizations puts TidalHealth among the top hospitals in the nation as their requirements are considered the most rigorous,” said Dr. Michael Wagner, laboratory medical director at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional. “I couldn’t be more proud of our staff for all the hard work and effort they put forth every day to provide excellent care for our patients.”
Robin Burns, laboratory senior director, added, “This significant accomplishment by the pathology and laboratory medicine teams earning both CAP and AABB accreditation further demonstrates our commitment to high-quality patient care at TidalHealth.”