Union Hospital of Cecil County

Agency Presentation
Presented by:
Devon Vitti
 Mission Statement
Union Hospital of Cecil County is a 122-
bed non-profit community hospital
located in Elkton, Maryland that provides
inpatient, outpatient, and emergency
services to residents of Cecil County and
surrounding areas.

The mission of Union Hospital of Cecil

County is “to provide safe, high quality
health services to residents of Cecil
County and neighboring communities.”
 Demographic Factors
• Cecil County has a population of 101,108 in 2010 with
42.1% of the population being considered rural (MD
Urban and Rural by Jurisdiction, 2010).
• Over 60 % of the population is between ages 25-74. The
population is almost evenly split male/female.
• Cecil County, Maryland ranks 22 of 24 counties in
Maryland in terms of overall health. These categories
include premature death; quality of life; health behaviors;
clinical care; social and economic factors; and physical
factors (County Health, 2016).
• In terms of clinical care, Cecil County suffers from a
major lack of providers, in terms of patient to provider
ratios, Cecil County is double the average of the state for
primary care physicians (2825:1); dentists (2754:1); and
mental health providers (610:1) to patients (County
Health, 2016).
• https://www.uhcc.com/about-us/community-benefit/cecil-
county-health-data/
 Policies & Procedures
Union Hospital of Cecil County like most healthcare systems
has a variety of checks and balances in terms of policies and
procedures. It would be an enormous feat to describe every
policy and procedure within the organization rather we’ll
review the sources which drive policy, examples include:

oCenter for Medicare & Medicaid Services

o OSHA
o The Joint Commission
o Maryland Department of Health & Mental Health
o Cecil County - Department of Social Services
o American College of Surgeons, Commission on Cancer

Based on regulations, laws, standards and recommendation

from these sources, the hospital develops internal policies and
procedures through various committees, groups or departments
within the organization to meet these standards of care.
Governance
Governance cont’d
Governance cont’d
 Funding
• Union Hospital of Cecil County is a 501(c) nonprofit
organization. Like most healthcare systems, Union
Hospital of Cecil County receives the majority of its’
funding through revenue generated by the healthcare
services rendered to its’ patients through the various
programs and services offered.
• Payers Include:
– Medicare,
– Medicaid,
– Tricare,
– Commercial Insurance Plans such as Blue Cross Blue Shield
– Self-Pay
– Financial Assistance; Uncompensated Care
 Funding cont’d
• Additional revenue may also come in the form of
contributions or grants awarded to the hospital system
or from investment income.
• The hospital also conducts fundraising through a
separate nonprofit entity, the Union Hospital
Foundation, in which proceeds from events and
donations goes towards various hospital programs,
services or projects.
• In terms of large scale capital projects or expansions,
the hospital may fundraise, solicit grants or dollars
from state and local government, or secure bonds to
finance the project. Additionally, it may use its’ own
reserves.
 Relationships
• As the sole hospital and major healthcare provider in Cecil
County, Maryland, Union Hospital of Cecil County does
have many relationships with community and human
services agencies.
• Community physicians and specialists have privileges at
the hospital, which allow them to care for their patients.
• The hospital partners with other health entities for services
and choices for its patients, such as:
– Home health, hospice
– Skill nursing facilities
– Durable medical equipment providers
– Ambulance services
– Physical therapy and rehabilitation services…etc.
 Relationships cont’d
• In terms of the collaborative care model, Union
Primary Care will be partnering with Upper Bay
Counseling and Community Services with oversight
from Union Behavioral Health.
• Upper Bay Counseling and Community Services is the
largest provider of behavioral health services in Cecil
County. They offer an array of services for children
and adults that include therapy and clinic services,
residential services, psychiatric rehabilitation services,
substance use disorder/co-occurring services, assertive
community treatment, and school-based services.
 Strengths
• Despite Union Hospital of Cecil County being a small community
hospital, it is the only hospital and provider of healthcare services in
Cecil County.
• The culture of Cecil County thrives on a small-town feel and the
majority of patients only go to Union Hospital because of this.
Patients feel more connected to the hospital, as they get to know
everyone and their family, friends, and neighbors also often work
there.
• Additionally, Union Hospital of Cecil County is one of the few
remaining independent community hospitals within the State, most
hospitals are part of a larger health care organizations such as the
University of Maryland health system or MedStar Health. Part of
this is due to the fact that the hospital is in good financial status and
has made good decisions over the years.
• The hospital is committed to quality and safety of its’ patients.
 Challenges
• As mentioned earlier, Cecil County presents as a
challenge due to notion it is a smaller, rural county with
pockets of poverty and lacks services/resources such as
transportation when compared with other counties in the
State of Maryland.
• Given its’ geographic location to major metropolitan areas
and cities, it makes it increasingly difficult to attract
physicians and specialists to the area.
• Additionally, there are larger healthcare organizations in
neighboring counties and states which can make it
difficult to compete, as it is not a research organization or
part of a larger system offering expanded services. Thus
drives competition.
 Trends
• The trend in healthcare is changing and it’s a rather tumultuous time,
given constant changes and political debates.
• Overall, the focus now is more on population health and taking care
of the community as a whole and care outside of the walls hospital
by keeping individuals healthier.
• Union Hospital of Cecil County does recognize the changes and it
has started to adjust but it still has room for growth and opportunity.
• In order to assist with this effort, Union Hospital of Cecil County
has entered into an agreement with Life Bridge Health to merge into
their healthcare system.
• Life Bridge Health is a nonprofit healthcare system based in
Baltimore, Maryland that currently has 3 hospitals and a variety of
healthcare services and ventures it partners with and owns to
improve the health of its’ patients.
 My Role
• While I am not interning at Union Hospital of Cecil County as I am a
current employee with the role of Director of Social Work and Outpatient
Behavioral Health Services, I did choose my employer to complete my
capstone project.
• My capstone project is focused on leading and developing an integrated
collaborative care model of behavioral health services within our primary
care practice by partnering with a community mental health agency.
• The model was developed by the Advancement of Integrated Mental Health
Services (AIMS) Center at the University of Washington, Psychiatry and
Social Sciences Division of Population Health (aims.uw.edu).
• This model has proven successful with our regional partner, University of
Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, and shown to be an effective way to
address the mental health needs of a large population with limited
behavioral health providers. As mentioned earlier, this is a challenge for
Cecil County given it has limited mental health professionals.
 Questions
• Questions?
• Comments?