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Meritus speech pathologists have tools to help patients communicate
The speech-language pathologists who support the needs of patients at Meritus Physical Therapy are passionate about ensuring those in their care have the tools and abilities they need to communicate with those around them. “Being able to communicate is not something to be taken for granted – and everyone deserves to have their voice heard. Something to remember, is that communication is not a privilege, it is a basic human right,” says Bethany Dunahugh, speech-language pathologist at Meritus Physical Therapy. In an effort to support that basic right, two years ago, Meritus Physical Therapy started a program to help non-verbal patients obtain and learn how to use communication devices. These devices, called speech generating devices, or SGDs, are a form of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). SGDs allow patients to communicate wants, needs and preferences by making selections via direct touch or other methods such as use of a switch or eye tracking. Used by patients with autism and a variety of other neurological conditions, AAC is a great tool for building and enhancing an individual’s ability to communicate. These devices can be customized with many vocabulary options, different languages and dialects. There are many options for access – direct selection with hands or feet, eye tracking, head tracking and more. Dunahugh recommends caregivers interested in learning more about the program should schedule an appointment with the patient’s physician to discuss enhancing the patient’s ability to communicate and request a referral to Meritus Physical Therapy. “The process in general involves a good bit of teamwork to get everything together. Having the physician on board helps makes things go a lot smoother!” Dunahugh states. Since beginning the program, 36 patients have received speech generating devices, and additional patients are awaiting insurance approval. However, these devices are just one of many tools to assist those individuals who are non-verbal, including those on the autism and neurodiversity spectrum,Additional services and support options offered by Meritus Physical Therapy’s pediatrics team include: Direct services and consultative services (based on individualized needs) Social skills training Implementation of social narratives and visual supports Sensory integration strategies Functional “activities of daily living” skill development and training Family-focused training and parent coaching To learn more about AACs or other services related to the treatment of autism or neurodiversity disorders, contact the Meritus Physical Therapy pediatrics team at 301-790-8613.
NEWS & UPDATES
At 6 months, Meritus Crisis Center key in local addiction fight
Since it opened Sept. 15, the Meritus Crisis Center has seen 204 patients. Dalton Jones was one of them. “They are amazing,” he said of the staff at the six-bed inpatient Crisis Center. “They basically saved my life.” Meritus Health opened the facility to support the needs of those struggling with addiction as part of its mission to improve the health of the community. The facility builds upon the success of a pilot initiative, which featured three crisis stabilization beds, launched in August 2022. The Maryland Department of Health recently reported that the rate of fatal overdose deaths in Washington County between November 2022 and November 2023 decreased by 22 percent. Local healthcare leaders attributed part of that drop to the creation of the crisis stabilization beds. The program is for patients 18 and older who have experienced an overdose and are willing to go to long-term treatment for addiction. A dirt bike accident when he was 20 led Jones to being prescribed oxycodone. Once the prescription ran out, he was buying pills off the street. One of those was laced with fentanyl, which led to his full-blown addiction. “I lost my wife, I lost my three kids, I lost my house, I lost everything,” he said. Jones, who has been sober since Jan. 1, was dropped off at the Crisis Center by his mother, who no longer wanted him in the house. “I had nowhere else to go,” he said. The Crisis Center program provides supportive counseling and evaluation of patients, and initial stabilizing and monitoring. Jones credits the Crisis Center for helping him detox. While working the drugs out of his system, the counselors made him comfortable with food and shelter. “If you're not comfortable while going through withdrawal, you'll never get clean,” he said. Patients are generally allowed to stay up to 72 hours until they can be accepted into a rehabilitation program. “Doing what we can to get people on the path to sobriety and rehabilitation is our goal,” said Allen Twigg, executive director of behavioral and community health at Meritus. “We will work with patients to get them the care that they need.” Jones said he was able to use the center more than once because the first rehabilitation program he entered was not a good fit. At the suggestion of the counselors at the Crisis Center, he entered a treatment program in Baltimore County. It’s been a success. “I get to see my kids now. My family is starting to talk to me again,” he said. “Life has been phenomenal.” Jones’ success story is one of many since the Crisis Center opened in the fall. Statistics show patients stay for an average of two days, and 68% have been admitted to substance use disorder treatment, which is above the national average. So far, only 15% of people cared for have returned within 30 days. “The Crisis Center is here to help our neighbors battling addiction, regardless of their ability to pay, who want to get themselves free,” said Meritus President and CEO Maulik Joshi, Dr.P.H. “Through partnerships with community members, we offer this resource for the community as another front in the battle against the opioid epidemic.”
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It’s not your imagination: Allergy season more severe, lasting longer
Spring often means new beginnings, but for allergy sufferers as of late, their springtime symptoms started well before the vernal equinox. Paul Mauriello, M.D., with Meritus Allergy & Asthma Specialists in Hagerstown said that, over his more than 37 years of counting pollen in Western Maryland, the spring allergy season seems to be shifting earlier. He has been finding pollen in February in recent years, he said. This year, in fact, he found a count of 23, which is considered medium level, on Feb. 12. It mostly has to do with the temperature at which different vegetation buds, Dr. Mauriello said. Different families of trees bud at different temperatures. Then come grasses. Then come other plants. And each one releases their own brand of pollen. “If we have a cold spring, and it warms up all at once, then everything will bud all at once and we’ll have pollen counts up into the thousands,” he said. “But then, it’s over in two weeks.” The past few winters and springs have not been as cold, which leads to successive waves of vegetation budding from mid-winter into early summer, which means a prolonged pollen season. “Most everybody can live through a horrible but short allergy season,” Dr. Mauriello said. “But more people are going to be bothered for longer if that season is from February through June. And if they’re sick for that long, it feels more severe.” However, it’s the end of April into the beginning of May that Dr. Mauriello says his practice sees the most patients seeking relief. “The moment to strike is now,” he said. “The pollen count is coming up, and we’re starting to see more people calling in for help.” For those coming in with new allergy symptoms, a nasal steroid is most likely the remedy. “Antihistamines are helpful, but they’re not always as effective as steroids,” he said. In extreme cases, injection treatment might be in order if the allergies are prolonged and repeated year after year. Dr. Mauriello welcomes children, adolescents and adults to reach out for an appointment if they are struggling with allergies. Do you want to know what the pollen count is? Dr. Mauriello checks the gauge daily at his office in Hagerstown. Updated counts can be found by going to www.meritushealth.com/allergies and scrolling to the bottom. Meritus Allergy & Asthma Specialists treat adults, children and adolescents for more than just seasonal allergies. To learn more about the practice or to schedule an appointment, go to the website or call 301-790-1482.
Meritus president and CEO to chair board of Maryland Physicians Care
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — The Board of Directors of Maryland Physicians Care, a locally managed care organization that provides insurance and health benefits to vulnerable and low-income community members, has named Meritus Health President and CEO Maulik Joshi, Dr. P.H., chair of the board. “It is an honor to be named chair of MPC, which has been helping to make receiving health care possible for many across the state of Maryland,” Joshi said. “Everyone deserves access to the health services they need. MPC allows so many of our neighbors to access health and dental care, resources and health education. The health of our communities relies on neighbors being able to afford needed care.” Maryland Physicians Care is jointly owned by Meritus Health, Ascension Saint Agnes, Holy Cross Health and UPMC Western Maryland. Its goal is to ensure that Maryland Medicaid recipients have access to quality healthcare services while also promoting preventive care and wellness initiatives. MPC has more than 240,000 members. Over the last 12 months, MPC has donated more than $2 million to its local owners’ communities. These donations have targeted social determinants of health and provider access issues within these communities. The donations include: Meritus Health in Hagerstown, Md. — $75,000 to Horizon Goodwill Inc. in part to support the health hub on North Prospect Street in downtown Hagerstown. The building, owned by Horizon Goodwill, features a Meritus primary care office, as well as a job training facility. Plans call for a grocery store, filling a crucial need in the downtown area. Also donated was $200,000 toward the creation of the Meritus Mental Health Walk-In Care center. The facility on the Meritus Medical Center campus is a partnership between the health system and Brook Lane, serving as a crucial resource for individuals aged 6 and older. The center caters to children, adolescents and adults facing mild-to-moderate mental health crises. Ascension Saint Agnes in Baltimore — $675,000 to Roberta’s House for school-based grief and emotional wellness programs; $60,000 to UEmpower of Maryland to support The Food Project; $150,000 to Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake for its Excel Center training; $40,000 to support Saint Joseph’s Monastery Parish’s community outreach; and $75,000 to Action in Maturity for an ADA compliant vehicle. Holy Cross Health – Montgomery County — $450,000 to Primary Care Coalition to complement Nexus Montgomery workforce development by providing wrap-around services to address social needs of the students. UPMC Western Maryland in Cumberland, Md. — $120,588 to Western Maryland Food Bank for food assistance and roof repairs; $25,000 to the Allegany County Department of Social Services for food assistance and holiday meals; $30,000 to the Salvation Army in Cumberland to assist with medical travel outside of the greater Cumberland area; $25,000 to the Union Rescue Mission in Cumberland for food assistance; and $50,000 to Associated Charities of Cumberland for medication assistance. “MPC is very excited to have Dr. Maulik Joshi as our new chairman of the Board of Directors,” said Jason Rottman, CEO of MPC. “Dr. Joshi brings a wealth of knowledge to this role with extensive experience in the healthcare industry. Dr. Joshi’s commitment to serving the community and, in particular, the Medicaid population, fits perfectly with the MPC’s mission. I look forward to the ideas and energy he will bring to the role.”
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