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Special Olympian returns to Meritus
Candi Blessing, who works in the Nutrition Services Department, nabbed three medals at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy After winning three medals at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy, Candi Blessing returned to her job at Meritus Medical Center with her hardware. The 39-year-old Smithsburg, Md., resident won silver medals in the 200 meters and relay snowshoeing events, and a gold medal in the 100 meters. “So happy,” she said, describing how she felt standing atop the podium with her first-place win. Candi made the trip with some help from her co-workers. The Meritus Health Foundation held a raffle fundraiser, with more than $2,300 going toward her expenses. She has worked at Meritus for 11 years in nutrition services, but she has been competing in Special Olympics for more than 30 years. Aside from snowshoeing, her sports include athletics, basketball and floor hockey. She competed in the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games in athletics in New Jersey. As for her time in Italy before the games, much of it was spent training, she said. But she and the other athletes representing Team USA did get to do a little sight-seeing, including the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, home of the Shroud of Turin. But you can’t tour and train on an empty stomach. Candi said she enjoyed the meals in Turin, which included pasta, rice and pizza. She participated in three races over several days during the games, which ran from March 8 to 15. Her first race was the 200 meters. “I can do it,” she said she was thinking to herself as she ran in her snowshoes against eight other competitors. It was a little different than what she’s used to. Normally, she trains at Whitetail Resort near Mercersburg, Pa. “There was more snow” in Italy, she said, which made it tougher to run. While she was competing, her friends and co-workers back home were keeping up to date. Erin Warner, Candi’s program specialist with the Arc of Washington County, said she was texting Chef Joe Fleischman, head of Meritus’ Nutrition Services Department — and Candi’s boss. For his part, Chef Joe would share the news with the staff. Meanwhile, graphics on Meritus Health’s electronic billboard on Robinwood Drive congratulated Candi and noted her medal haul. Her co-workers were excited to see her when she started back to work this week. “They were so happy,” she said.
NEWS & UPDATES
Meritus Psychiatry Residency Program matches with five new doctors
New program joins Meritus Family Medicine Residency Program HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Meritus Health’s new Psychiatry Residency Program has matched with its first class of five doctors. They’ll be joining the six doctors who matched with the existing Meritus Family Medicine Residency program. “We are excited to welcome our first class of Psychiatry residents,” said Heather Theibert, D.O., program director for the Meritus Psychiatry Residency. “There is an obvious need for mental health professionals in this region and nationally. We are proud to be educating the next generation of psychiatrists to help meet this need with a focus on training psychiatrists who will stay and serve the Washington County area.” Each year, on the heels of graduation, medical students nationwide eagerly await announcement for where they “matched,” meaning where they will spend their next several years in residency. Residency programs serve as structured apprenticeships leading to board certification in a particular specialty. A resident is a physician who is enrolled in this apprenticeship or residency and is overseen by board-certified faculty physicians. The highly selective process results in five medical school graduates being matched with the psychiatry program at Meritus, along with six being matched with the family medicine program. The psychiatry residency is a four-year program for a total of 20 residents once the program is filled out. The family medicine program is a three-year program for a total of 18 residents. “It is a joy to welcome another class of promising doctors into the Meritus Family Medicine Residency Program,” said Stacy Ross, M.D., program director. “The highly skilled faculty physicians and colleagues here are eager to help guide them over the next three years. And these physicians will be working in our family medicine practice, meaning patients get to participate in their educational journey, too.” The Meritus Psychiatry Residency Program of class of 2029 includes graduates from Maryland, Florida and Iowa: · Crist Cuffee, D.O., Ankeny, Iowa; Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine · Claudia Jensen, D.O., Tampa, Fla.; Liberty College of Osteopathic Medicine · Ramya Kolagani, M.D., Ellicott City, Md.; Penn State University College of Medicine · Judy Lau, M.D., Germantown, Md.; Saint Louis University School of Medicine · Oluwaseun Oyewo, M.D., Silver Spring, Md.; University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts The Meritus Family Medicine Residency Program class of 2028 includes graduates from Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Nigeria: · Eyimofe Fakoyede, M.D., Lagos, Nigeria; Medical University of Plovdiv Faculty of Medicine · Luke Horning, D.O., McLean, Va.; West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine · Madeleine Miller, D.O., Cleveland, Ohio; Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine · Sofia Paniagua, D.O., Gaithersburg, Md.; New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine · Idongesit Usoroh, M.D., Eket, Nigeria; All Saints University School of Medicine, Dominica · Doopashika Welikala, D.O., Gaithersburg, Md.; Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine Meritus Health plans to launch more residency programs in the coming years as it prepares to welcome the inaugural class of students to the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine this summer. The school, the first to open in Maryland in more than 100 years, is meant to help close the gap in the number of physician openings regionally and nationwide. To learn more about the Psychiatry and Family Medicine residency programs, visit www.meritushealth.com/residency. To learn more about the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine, visit msom.org. ### Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.
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New Meritus plastic surgeon helps cancer patients ‘pick up the pieces’
Dr. Eric Maiorino now seeing patients in Hagerstown HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Breast cancer is a traumatic experience for patients, often leaving them questioning who they are because of scars after treatment. Eric Maiorino, M.D., the new surgeon at Meritus Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery, said he’s there to help those patients get back some semblance of their identity. “It’s a difficult time for patients. They’re always very afraid of looking deformed or not themselves,” Maiorino said. “My goal is to help them be able to pick up the pieces.” Maiorino grew up in Queens, N.Y., about 15 blocks away from where his practice partner, Salvatore DiMercurio, M.D., grew up. They even went to the same elementary and middle schools, albeit years apart. After earning his medical degree in 2012 from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Maiorino did his residency in general surgery at Temple University Hospital, which, among other things, focused on underserved populations. In 2018, Maiorino began a plastic surgery fellowship at the University of Texas in Houston at Hermann Memorial Hospital. “It was my first rodeo,” he joked, saying he’d never been to a rodeo before living in Texas. He also trained at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, part of the University of Texas. There he focused on reconstructive surgery for people dealing with a variety of cancers. “Plastic surgery is so broad,” he said, noting he gets to work with physicians in everything from cardiology to gastroenterology. “When you think of it, you think it’s just face lifts and breast enhancements. Plastic surgery touches so much more than that.” Eventually, Maiorino moved back to the East Coast and set up a practice in Washington, D.C. He was voted Top Doc the past three years by Washingtonian magazine. He became aware of Meritus Health thanks to its commitment to expanding medical education and training the next generation of doctors. The health system has residency programs in family medicine and psychiatry and is planning to add surgery in the near future. It also is set to open the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine, the first medical school to open in Maryland in 100 years, this summer. “I was a high school science teacher before I went to medical school, so this interested me,” he said. At Meritus Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery, Maiorino said he hopes to expand services for breast cancer patients, allowing them to avoid traveling out of the area. And he is looking forward to helping grow Meritus’ educational offerings. “I’m excited to help in making this more of an academic center,” he said. To learn more about Meritus Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery or to make an appointment, visit www.meritushealth.com/plastics or call 301-714-4460 in Hagerstown or 717-261-1620 in Chambersburg. ### Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.
Meritus Urology honored again by U.S. News & World Report
Outpatient surgery earns ‘High Performing’ rating HAGERSTOWN, Md. — For the second year in a row, the surgical services at Meritus Urology received top ranking from U.S. News & World Report. Meritus Urology’s outpatient surgery earned a “High Performing” rating for ambulatory surgery centers from the pro-consumer media company. It was one of only 708 same-day surgical centers to earn this rating out of nearly 4,400 centers that U.S. News evaluated. "It is a great privilege to be honored two years in a row by U.S. News & World Report," said Dr. Kevin Hackett, Meritus Urology medical director. "I think it shows the commitment to quality care by our staff with the goal of improving the health of our patients." Procedures typically take less than an hour, with just another hour required in recovery. Care can include everything from an enlarged prostate to kidney stone removal. The practice also treats bladder, kidney, prostate and testicular cancers. Services are available for men and women, children and adults. “Because ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have become an increasingly large part of the U.S. patient experience, U.S. News set out to help consumers, in consultation with their healthcare professionals, identify high quality ASCs,” the publication said in its methodology report. To learn more about Meritus Urology, visit www.MeritusHealth.com/Urology or call 301-733-0022. ### Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.
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