For Immediate Release April 21, 2020

David Marcozzi, MD, COVID-19 Incident Commander for the University of Maryland Medical System, visited UM Shore Medical Center at Easton on Wednesday, April 15 to check-in with staff who are on the frontlines of the hospital’s response to the global pandemic.

Dr. Marcozzi, an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, started the day with a temperature check and “elbow bump” greetings with UM Shore Regional Health President and CEO Ken Kozel, William Huffner, MD, Chief Medical Officer who is serving as COVID-19 Incident Commander for UM SRH, and other team members -- all of whom were following universal masking protocols. Dr. Marcozzi also visited several hospital departments throughout the morning to talk with staff about surge planning and patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was so great to have the leader of the UMMS incident command come down and see us here at Shore,” says Jessica Fluharty, Director, Critical Care and Emergency Services, who was on hand for most of Dr. Marcozzi’s visit. “He was interested in talking to our frontline team members. He wanted to know if we had everything we needed, and how could we work better together as a system. He was very open to everyone’s comments and suggestions and thanked them for their thoughts.”

“This was a great opportunity to spend some time both with clinical staff who are doing an incredible job on the frontlines, providing the very best care possible, and with non-clinical staff who are engaged with a tremendous amount of ‘behind the scenes’ support for the COVID-19 response at our Easton hospital,” Dr. Marcozzi said. “This is truly an ‘all hands on deck’, unified effort across the Shore hospitals and across our System.”

UM SRH continues working with our UMMS colleagues during the COVID-19 response to ensure all patients receive the care and attention needed.