Growing healthcare needs spark local innovation

Maryland’s Mid-Shore region faces a critical shortage of healthcare workers just as the area braces for an influx of older adults requiring increasingly complex care. The anticipation of the new University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center, now under construction in Easton, could further strain access, leading local leaders to innovative thinking and programs to grow and retain our local workforce.

“It's always been an underserved region, but we're at a tipping point,” said Lisa Widmaier, executive director of the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (ESAHEC) in Cambridge. “The population is aging, demand is increasing, and we simply don't have enough providers and medical workers.”

The situation reflects a nationwide crisis in rural healthcare staffing. Still, the effects are amplified in communities like those on the Eastern Shore, where transportation challenges, limited specialist networks, and lower comparative salaries may discourage medical professionals from working here.

Research indicates that healthcare providers with rural backgrounds or those who train in rural settings are more likely to remain in those communities long-term. As a result, several local organizations are recruiting and educating local students, each working to enhance retention by fostering strong community ties and a commitment to growing a medical workforce right here on the Shore.

Building Local Solutions with Local Talent
ESAHEC is addressing the shortage of healthcare workers from the ground up by investing in the people already living and working in Mid-Shore communities.

With funding from the Maryland Department of Labor’s EARN grant program, ESAHEC is helping individuals train as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), providing an integrated system of support that includes scholarships, mentoring, resume assistance, and even transportation and childcare.

“We’re trying to eliminate as many barriers as possible,” Widmaier says. “It’s not enough to enroll someone in a training program. We need to guide the training, the certification process, and into employment.”

ESAHEC partners with Chesapeake College, Wor-Wic Community College, and Cecil College to deliver CNA training. They also work directly with regional employers, including nursing homes, clinics, and private practices, to place graduates where they’re needed most.

The center also offers a five-week, online Community Health Worker (CHW) program, with scholarships available. CHWs serve as trusted community members who help neighbors navigate healthcare systems, access social services, and improve health literacy.

“CHWs play a critical role in delivering healthcare to our local communities,” said Widmaier. “They understand their communities. They build trust. And they make healthcare more human.”

Grow Your Own: Choptank Health’s Workforce Pipeline
At Choptank Community Health System based in Denton, CEO and President Sara Rich is facing similar challenges—and responding with a long-term commitment to growing talent from within.

“Like all health centers—and for that matter, all businesses—we’re experiencing staffing challenges,” said Rich. “That’s why we’ve adopted and expanded our ‘Grow Your Own’ program.”

Among its most successful initiatives is Choptank’s longstanding partnership with NYU Langone to host Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residents. The program has already produced results: three dentists hired from the program in the past two years.

Choptank Health recently expanded its reach by launching a Pediatric Dental Residency Program in July 2024, bringing in three new residents. Four more will arrive this summer to bolster pediatric dental services across the Shore.

Choptank Health offers scholarships to current employees in partnership with local community colleges for aspiring medical assistants (MAs) and dental assistants (DAs). Team members can also apply quarterly for tuition assistance to pursue vocational training, certificates, and degree programs—an effort to promote professional growth on the ‘shore.

Rich says Choptank Health is participating in the new Maryland Rural Residency Program, a partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland Shore Regional Health. The program is designed to train family medicine physicians to serve in rural communities like those on the Mid-Shore, with plans to launch at Choptank Health in the near future.

“We’re creating pathways to grow careers right here,” said Rich. “That’s what keeps care local—and sustainable.”

Introducing Healthcare Early: The ITCH Program
Sparking interest in healthcare begins well before college or even high school. That’s the premise behind the ITCH program—short for “Introducing the Community to Healthcare”—based in Easton.

Founded by retired pediatrician Dr. Judith Gieske and joined by experienced nurses Ruth Ann Jones and Cynthia Watson, the program offers interactive, real-world exposure to healthcare careers for middle and high school students. Through hospital tours, health simulations, and mentorship, the program has already ignited passion among students who might never have considered a future in medicine.

“We’re trying to plant seeds,” said Gieske. “Young people need to see people like them making a difference in healthcare. That’s when they believe they can do it, too.”

ESAHEC and ITCH have begun collaborating to align their programs and avoid overlapping, with the goal of building a seamless pipeline from classroom to clinic.

“We’ve met multiple times to explore how we can build off each other’s strengths,” said Widmaier. “We don’t want to duplicate—we want to strengthen each other’s impact.”

Mentorship, Rotations, and Returning Home
For medical students, the opportunity to live and work on the Eastern Shore—even temporarily—can be transformative. ESAHEC runs a preceptorship program that places University of Maryland School of Medicine students with practicing physicians across Cambridge, Easton, Salisbury, and Caroline County.

These preceptors—licensed local doctors—mentor students through four-week rotations. Housing is provided free of charge, thanks to support from the Maryland State Office of Rural Health.

“Students shadow real doctors in real rural practices,” said Widmaier. “They see what it’s like to treat patients in a community with limited resources and real needs.”

This July, ESAHEC will host an interdisciplinary poverty simulation with students from the University of Maryland’s pharmacy, physical therapy, and physician assistant programs—an immersive training that helps future providers understand how economic and social issues affect health outcomes.

“It’s not just about what happens in the clinic,” Widmaier said. “It’s about what’s happening in patients' lives before they ever walk through the door.”

A Collective Response to a Shared Crisis
Despite the challenges, Widmaier remains optimistic—mainly because of the strength of the partnerships forming across the region. ESAHEC is also expanding its work in local schools, delivering hands-on learning like aging simulations and dental career workshops to engage students early.

“There are kids out there who are going to be the next nurse, the next doctor, the next CHW,” said Widmaier. “We just have to reach them.”

ESAHEC is also applying for new grant funding to build a behavioral health career track for young people and continues to expand its outreach through health fairs, food pantries, and libraries across the Mid-Shore.

“This crisis isn’t going away overnight,” she says. “But what gives me hope is that we’re not relying on outside fixes. We’re building the solutions ourselves—right here, in our communities.”

And for a region known for its resilience and pleasant living, that just might be the most powerful medicine of all.

For more information about any of these programs, go to www.esahec.org, www.choptankhealth.org, or www.itchmed.org.