Combating accidental drug overdose
Reports on prescription drug overdose often focus on the number of people who intentionally take more than the prescribed dose of a drug. According to Vaibhav A. Parekh, MD, FACP, an Internal Medicine physician at GBMC Health Partners, there’s a bigger issue at play.
Family Focus
Bariatric Surgery - Greater Living Live
Dr. Emily Watters, Bariatric & General Surgeon from GBMC's Bariatric Surgery & Comprehensive Obesity Management Program explains the bariatric surgery options at GBMC.
Healthy Tips
Ask an Oncology Expert with Dr. Ari Elman
Healthy Tips
GBMC President and CEO Recognized with Baldrige Leadership Award
President and CEO of the GBMC HealthCare System, John B. Chessare, MD, MPH, was recently presented with the 2022 Harry S. Hertz Leadership Award from the Baldrige Foundation.
Around GBMC
Join GBMC Sonographer in Bringing Medicine to Ukrainian Mothers and Families
Supporting Excellence
Managing type 2 diabetes without insulin
Healthy Tips
Fighting for Their Family
JD and Rebecca Cahall have been fighting for their babies for many years. Fertility treatments ultimately led to a cancer diagnosis that could have easily been overlooked. After conquering cancer, the Cahalls had a successful round of IVF and conceived their beautiful baby girls. Being pregnant with twins, they knew there was a chance their girls would require care in the NICU. What they were not prepared for was how early the girls would arrive and in what condition.
Supporting Excellence
Local Family Business Gives Back
When you’re faced with a dramatic change, like a cancer diagnosis, it’s good to know there is someone you can rely on. For patients of the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute who lack the resources to get to and from their treatments, that someone is GBMC’s Oncology Support Services (OSS) team and the Transportation Program.
Supporting Excellence
Getting to Know the Cancer Team: Brittney Davis
Brittney Davis is one of two social workers in the Oncology Support Services (OSS) program, who provide psychosocial and emotional support to patients and their families throughout the treatment process and beyond. An additional part-time social worker serves gynecologic oncology patients. GBMC does not charge for this care. Like the rest of the OSS program, this support is entirely dependent on generous donors.
Supporting Excellence
The Power of a Positive Attitude
Bob Windsor believes in the power of a positive attitude. He puts that belief into action every day and each time he visits GBMC's Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute for care. He cheerfully greets those he meets and makes the effort to get to know them.
Supporting Excellence
Financial Navigator Clears Hurdles for Cancer Patients
Thanks to generous donors, the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute puts the needs of patients before all other considerations – including their ability to pay. A new member of the Oncology Support Services (OSS) team, a Financial Navigator, is not only helping patients navigate complicated applications for support but also saving the Cancer Institute money.
Supporting Excellence
Emergency Medicine Physician Serves Others in More Ways Than One
Supporting Excellence
Designing the Infusion Center in the Sandra R. Berman Pavilion
Since last fall, we have been working on the design of the new Infusion Center that will be located in the Sandra R. Berman Pavilion – new home of the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute! Our new building is slated to open in early 2025.
Supporting Excellence
Telehealth: An important notice for all GBMC HealthCare patients
Around GBMC
The risk factors and treatment plans for thyroid cancer
Healthy Tips
April 20, 2022: COVID-19 Update with President and CEO, John B. Chessare, MD, MPH
Dr. Chessare delivers an update on the COVID-19 situation for the GBMC community on April 20, 2022.
COVID-19
Good Friday Service - 2022
Around GBMC
Ask an Oncology Expert with Dr. Farzad Masroor
Facebook Live
Colon and Rectal Cancer Discussed on Greater Living Live
Dr. Nina Ferraris, Colon & Rectal Surgeon from GBMC Health Partners joined Mary Beth Marsden on Greater Living Live to discuss colon & rectal cancer prevention and treatment.
Healthy Tips
GBMC SAFE/DV Community Collaborations: Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention
Two experts share how GBMC's SAFE/DV Program partner with local agencies to gain justice for their patients.
Supporting Excellence
Child Life Explained - Facebook Live
Kayleigh Koehler, MS< CCSL, and Jennifer Seiler, MEd., CCLS, discuss the Child Life Program at GBMC
Family Focus
Married to Each Other and the Idea of Better Patient Care for Baltimore
Melvin S. Blanchard, MD, FACP, Chair of Medicine at GBMC HealthCare, and his wife, Erica N. Johnson, MD, an Infectious Disease Specialist, Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine, met because of their shared roles as educators. When the opportunity to support GBMC’s capital campaign, The Promise Project, presented itself, they saw it as an extension of the relationship-based, patient-centered care delivery method they consistently stress with their residents.
Supporting Excellence
Colon Cancer - BMORE Lifestyle
Healthy Tips
The GBMC Difference: Kathleen Taylor Grateful for Exceptional Care and Renewed Health after Unexpected Illness
As a single working mother, Kathleen Taylor is used to focusing her time on others.
Patient Stories
Screening is key to catching some GI cancers
Healthy Tips
What Exactly is the Difference Between a DO and MD?
When it comes to selecting a good healthcare provider, the goal is finding someone you can trust who is going to provide excellent care. You might not have given much thought before to the letters behind your practitioner’s name, but what exactly is the difference between an MD and a DO? Is one better than the other?
Around GBMC
State-Run COVID Testing in the Community
The Maryland Department of Health (MDH), in partnership with hospitals statewide and the Maryland National Guard, is opening or expanding the hours of operation at COVID-19 testing sites across the state, as announced by Governor Hogan.
COVID-19
Current Events and Mental Health
Rachna Raisinghani, MD, FAPA, FACLP, discusses how to deal with mental health with an ever-changing world
Healthy Tips
Outpatient Knee Replacement Surgery
Healthy Tips
Ask an Oncology Expert with Dr. Gang Chen
Healthy Tips
Midday Maryland - Bariatric Surgery as a Weight Loss Tool
GBMC's Comprehensive Obesity Management Program (COMP) offers counseling, support, and education to patients both before and after weight loss surgery.
Healthy Tips
Bariatric surgeons help patients achieve sustainable weight loss
Healthy Tips
Greater Living Live - GBMC's Child Protection Program
**CONTENT WARNING** This program references child abuse. Viewer discretion is advised. Learn about GBMC’s Child Protection Program and the response to pediatric abuse and how the GBMC CPP collaborates with the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Family Focus
Midday Maryland - Protect Your Hearing
Regina Presley, Director of Audiology at GBMC, discusses how you can protect your hearing
Healthy Tips
What Do We Know About Long COVID
Healthy Tips
New Home for Wound Center at GBMC
Relocating the Wound Center to ground level, and reconfiguring and renovating the new space with larger rooms and adjacent parking will result in better service, better outcomes, and greater patient comfort, convenience, and satisfaction.
Supporting Excellence
The Leader Who Runs a Shop at the Corner of Hope and Community
Patty Leaverton has been a fixture at The Corner Shop at GBMC since 2012, as synonymous with the store as the eclectic, affordable gifts she meticulously selects each season.
Supporting Excellence
T. Rowe Price Education Fund Supports Employees in Their Continued Education
Supporting Excellence
Cleft Team Pays Tribute to Physician Legacy with Naming
Because of the passion and dedication of one of their founders, the Greater Baltimore Cleft Lip and Palate Team sought to rename the program the Randolph B. Capone Cleft Lip and Palate Program as a permanent tribute to the life’s work of a beloved physician, leader, family man, and friend.
Supporting Excellence
GBMC Brings Its Quality Primary Care to Baltimore City
GBMC might be known around town as the hospital on the hill, but in the 2010s, GBMC expanded primary care to 10 locations across Baltimore and Harford Counties, continuing a legacy that began in 1965 of bringing quality and compassionate healthcare where there is a need. Today, GBMC has returned to its roots by bringing primary care to Baltimore City, to the site of what once housed the Presbyterian Eye, Ear & Throat Charity Hospital.
Supporting Excellence
Elder Medical Care: “It has been a blessing for me”
Supporting Excellence
Continued Support from One Founding Hospital
The mission of GBMC since its founding has been putting the patient first. And whether it was in creating the hospital in 1965 or on the path to redesigning care with The Promise Project, GBMC’s founding institutions have been supportive along the way.
Supporting Excellence
Cervical Cancer Prevention, Detection, and Treatment
Fong Liu, MD, Gynecologic Oncologist at GBMC and Assistant Professor at JHSOM will explain cervical cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Healthy Tips
Ask an Oncology Expert with Dr. Delia Chiaramonte
Around GBMC
Weight Loss Options at the Comprehensive Obesity Management Program at GBMC
Dr. Emily J. Watters, general surgeon for GBMC Health Partners Finney Trimble Surgical Associates and a bariatric surgeon for the GBMC Comprehensive Obesity Management Program, discusses weight loss surgery and the role it plays in a lifestyle change.
Healthy Tips
Keeping healthy Nutrition Habits
Jana Wolff, RDN, LDN, Director of Nutrition at the GBMC Comprehensive Obesity Management Program explains tips for keeping your New Year's resolutions regarding dietary habits.
Family Focus
Recognizing Teen Dating Violence - Midday Maryland
Lauren Hanley, MS, NCC - Program Coordinator for the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination and Domestic Violence Program (SAFE & DV) discusses teen dating violence (TDV). TDV is characterized by a pattern of unhealthy relationship behaviors, which includes physical, verbal, emotional, digital, or sexual abuse.
Family Focus
When integrative and traditional medicines combine, patients win
Treatments like chemotherapy and radiation are established, clinical methods for treating cancer. While they are effective at treating the disease itself, providing integrative and palliative medicine alongside these conventional treatments ensures the patient’s physical and emotional wellbeing are also being addressed.
Around GBMC
New and More Convenient GBMC Imaging Center Location
Advanced Radiology delivers a full spectrum of state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging services, provided by expert radiologists at two caring and comfortable centers, now both conveniently located at the main hospital.
Around GBMC
New Tech Gives Audiology Students Front Seats to Learning
Around GBMC
Feb. 3: COVID-19 Update with President and CEO, John. B. Chessare, MD, MPH
Dr. Chessare delivers an update on the COVID-19 situation for the GBMC community on February 3, 2022.
COVID-19
Building a Community of Hope and Faith
As she is lifted up, Jewel Allen is determined to lift others up as well.
Supporting Excellence
A Place to Rest
Sandy told Dr. Mei Tang that giving back to GBMC helped her feel that she was doing something for other oncology patients, especially those who were going through treatment alone.
Supporting Excellence
Recent Achievements at the Berman Cancer Institute
Supporting Excellence
Getting to Know the Cancer Team: Q&A with Dawn Stefanik
When patients of the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute arrive for infusion treatment, they might not meet Dawn Stefanik, but she touches their lives nonetheless.
Supporting Excellence
GBMC Volunteer Joins Yaggy Society with Campaign Gift
Shirley Lewis’ life is marked by music. It’s how she met her husband, it’s how she made a living and it’s how she has chosen to give back to her community with a gift to The Promise Project as well as as a Spiritual Support Services volunteer at GBMC.
Supporting Excellence
Treating the entire patient using an integrative approach
Healthy Tips
Jan. 20: COVID-19 Update with President and CEO, John. B. Chessare, MD, MPH
Dr. Chessare delivers an update on the COVID-19 situation for the GBMC community on January 20, 2022.
COVID-19
Facebook Live with WMAR - Bone Fractures
James Johnston, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon at GBMC Health Partners Orthopaedics discusses how bone fractures are treated and how to prevent them, and more.
Facebook Live
Midday Maryland - Hospitalists
Dr. Colin Russell explains the role of hospitalists at GBMC. At GBMC, hospitalists act as primary care physicians for patients by providing care as well as coordinating with specialists and other medical teams. The hospitalist also orders testing, blood panels, imaging, and the like and makes care choices along with the patient and their loved ones.
Around GBMC
How GBMC uses patient input to guide decision-making
At GBMC, whether you are parking, visiting a GBMC HealthCare provider, or using the patient portal, MyChart, there is a group of community members behind the scenes working to make processes as smooth as possible: The Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC) at GBMC.
Around GBMC
GBMC Community Collaborations: Ensuring the Best Outcomes for Child Abuse Victims
Hear from two experts in our community about how we can protect our children from horrific crimes of abuse and violence.
Supporting Excellence
Ask an Oncology Expert with Dr. Fong Liu
Facebook Live
Jan. 12: COVID-19 Update with President and CEO, John. B. Chessare, MD, MPH
Dr. Chessare delivers an update on the COVID-19 situation for the GBMC community on January 12, 2022.
COVID-19
Grand Opening of the new Unit 47 | Integrative Care Unit
GBMC opens its doors for the new Integrative Care Unit, originally Unit 38, in the main hospital
Around GBMC
Thyroid Conditions: Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments
Ray Gervacio F. Blanco, MD, FACS - Medical Director - Milton J. Dance, Jr. Head and Neck Center, Head and Neck Surgery, and Farzad A. Masroor, MD, Head & Neck Surgeon, discuss thyroid conditions
Healthy Tips
Jan. 5: COVID-19 Update with President and CEO, John. B. Chessare, MD, MPH
Dr. Chessare delivers an update on the COVID-19 situation for the GBMC community on January 5, 2022.
COVID-19
Dec. 30: COVID-19 Update with President and CEO, John. B. Chessare, MD, MPH
Dr. Chessare delivers an update on the COVID-19 situation for the GBMC community on December 30, 2021.
COVID-19
COVID-19 Testing for GBMC Health Partners Primary Care Patients
In response to the need for additional COVID-19 testing, GBMC Health Partners is now offering PCR (not rapid) COVID-19 tests at our Padonia Plus location.
COVID-19
How Does Your Body Actually Prevent or Manage Infection?
There might be a lot of unknowns surrounding COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, but thanks to biology and infectious disease research, we do know vaccines are effective at preventing severe illness. T-cells, which the body produces naturally, are a key part of the immune response.
COVID-19
Dec. 23: COVID-19 Update with President and CEO, John. B. Chessare, MD, MPH
Dr. Chessare delivers a bi-monthly update on the COVID-19 situation for the GBMC community on December 23, 2021.
COVID-19
Jaschiks Thank Oncology Staff by Supporting Their Future Work
It was the genuine care and concern given to Karen Jaschik during her treatment for Stage 1 breast cancer that led the Jaschiks to give a gift to The Promise Project to support the construction of the Sandra R. Berman Pavilion.
Supporting Excellence
Promise Project Naming Opportunities
Around GBMC
GBMC Mourns Loss of Board Member, Ted Mowbray
Edwin R. “Ted” Mowbray, former member of the GBMC Foundation Board and Philanthropy Committee, died at his Ruxton home December 15. He was 77.
Supporting Excellence
Midday Maryland - Lung Cancer
Lung cancers can be asymptomatic until they spread, so understanding your risk is important. Learn more about risk factors and screenings. www.gbmc.org
Facebook Live
Greater Living Live - Performance Improvement and Innovation
Around GBMC
It’s About Relationships at GBMC Health Partners
Patient Stories
Dec. 8: COVID-19 Update with President and CEO, John. B. Chessare, MD, MPH
Dr. Chessare delivers a bi-monthly update on the COVID-19 situation for the GBMC community on December 8, 2021.
COVID-19
Ask An Oncology Expert with Dr. Alan Kimmel
Healthy Tips
DeDe's Gift Gives Back
His cheerful tone made her realize that parking was just one more thing to think about when patients were trying to get well. DeDe’s Gift was born out of Docia Grimm’s memory, with the mission of lifting that one burden off the patient’s shoulders.
Supporting Excellence
The Gift of Time
Ethel Zelenske is making the most of the gift of time she has received, thanks to the care of the many GBMC oncologists and staff involved in the Clinical Trials Program.
Supporting Excellence
Dr. Francis "Bing" Grumbine to Retire
Dr. Francis “Bing” Grumbine plans to retire this month. “I’ll will miss working alongside these wonderful people,” he says. “And I will miss my patients. But I am leaving the department in very capable hands.”
Supporting Excellence
Recognitions Achieved at the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute
GBMC has always been recognized for the quality of our medical staff, which was again confirmed when 131 of our physicians, in 69 specialties, were named in the Baltimore magazine “Top Doctors 2021” issue.
Supporting Excellence
From the Desk of Erlene Washington: A Year in Review
Supporting Excellence
Better quality of life for terminal heart disease patients through hospice
Family Focus
The New Gilchrist Center Baltimore: The next chapter in caring for the underserved in Baltimore City
Gilchrist Center Baltimore is continuing its legacy of providing compassionate end-of-life care and support to the residents of Baltimore City and their families with a new state-of-the-art center at Stadium Place on East 33rd Street, the former home of Memorial Stadium. The center is now accepting patients.
Supporting Excellence
One Moment
Kathy Patten had seven grandchildren come into the world before July 2, 2021. But the moment Patten decided to cancel her golf game that day to join her daughter, Stacey Fifer, in GBMC’s Labor and Delivery Department changed everything — for her and for the staff at GBMC.
Supporting Excellence
Getting to Know the Cancer Team: Q&A with Brandon Costantino
Meet Senior Ambulatory Practice Manager for the Milton J. Dance, Jr. Head & Neck Center and Oncology Support Services Program Manager Brandon Costantino. Brandon is, understandably, proud of the program and the staff who deliver it.
Supporting Excellence
From One Groundbreaking to Another
Nancy Klueh understands how important GBMC has been in her family’s life when they needed good, quality, compassionate healthcare and desires the same for future families. It is why she and her husband made a gift to The Promise Project.
Supporting Excellence
Dr. Sunness Discusses Macular Degeneration
Janet S. Sunness, MD, Medical Director of the Hoover Low Vision Rehabilitation Services and Department of Ophthalmology at GBMC - Greater Baltimore Medical Center discussed Macular Degeneration.
Healthy Tips
Gilchrist Discussed on Facebook Live
Dr. Anthony Riley talks about Gilchrist on Facebook Live with Megan Knight on ABC2 News
Around GBMC
GBMC Voices - Ep. 23 - Michael
Michael is a Cardiac Sonographer at GBMC. He gets to work with patients and look at and watch patients' hearts to see their health. Talk about a man with a good heart
GBMC Voices
Keeping diabetes under control with patient engagement
Dr. Gregory Small says primary care physicians and nurses at GBMC have a responsibility to continue re-engaging with the almost 6,000 patients in the system who are diabetic and partner with them to properly manage their disease.
Healthy Tips
GBMC Voices - Ep. 26 - Allison
For National Rad Tech Week, we'd also like to introduce you to Allison. Allison loves working with patients and getting to know them to learn how she can better care for them. Working with a close team of friends, they work together to provide the care that they would want for their own loved one.
GBMC Voices
GBMC Voices - Ep. 25 - Jared
Meet Jared, one of the security officers you might see around GBMC's Campus. A respectable man, and a child at heart, Jared keeps his core values proud and strong, hoping to make everyone around him feel comfortable and safe.
GBMC Voices
Greater Living Live - Discussing Dementia
Ellen Deibert, MD, FAHA, Division Chief of Neurology, Medical Director of Stroke at GBMC discusses dementia.
Healthy Tips
Ask an Oncology Expert with Doctor Brookland
In addition to his main role of treating patients, Dr. Robert Brookland serves on various committees such as the American Joint Committee on Cancer, which develops the cancer staging manual. In the most recent Ask the Oncology Expert, Dr. Brookland shared his knowledge on cancer staging and why it is so important for diagnosis.
Supporting Excellence
GBMC Physicians Earn Baltimore Magazine’s Top Docs Honors for 2021
More than 121 Greater Baltimore Medical Center physicians, in 67 unique specialties, were named in Baltimore Magazine’s “Top Doctors” listings for 2021.
Around GBMC
Jerry's Toyota Shares Important Resource at Company Event
SAFE/DV services are provided at no cost to the patient but are available when they need them because of generous and dedicated support from Jerry’s Toyota, their tournament participants, and many more committed donors.
Supporting Excellence
Is Your Hearing at Risk?
Healthy Tips