$3 Million Fundraising Effort Begins
The Emergency Department at the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center is seeing an average of 250 adults and children a month suffering from a mental health issue or behavioral health crisis.
There are currently only six beds in the ED Behavioral Health Unit to accommodate them.
Long Emergency Room Wait Times
That often means wait times of up to a day for an evaluation– forcing some in mental distress to sit out in the emergency room packed with other non-psychiatric patients.
And it’s only going to get worse at Howard County’s only hospital.
Big Need for Mental Health Services
“Forty percent of the general population will have a mental issue or behavioral issue at some point in their lives serious enough that they would warrant attention,” says Dr. Andrew Angelino MD, Chair of JHHCMC’s Psychiatry Department. “Our current space is wholly inadequate. It’s too small and it’s not very comfortable or conducive to healing, “he says.
The JHHCMC Foundation Board and the Hospital Foundation have launched a campaign called “Together: Let’s Support our Neighborhood Hospital” to raise $3 million to build a new BHU—increasing the size from 1500 square feet to seven thousand square feet and adding 18 more beds.
The Importance of Investment
“The reason that it’s important to invest in your own hospital is that at any given time someone in your family or your friend network will need our services, and it’s just a matter of time,” says Dr. Shafeeq Ahmed, MD MBA, JHHCMC President. “And the nice thing about the Hopkins health system is that when you invest in the local hospital that money stays local for that hospital.”
Campaign organizers are calling on schools, 501 (c) 3 organizations, businesses, and neighborhoods to participate. Two schools-one public and one private, and the top fundraising business will be named Donor Champions and receive a financial award.
Money Well-Spent
The total cost of the BHU is $10 million. The State of Maryland and Howard County have each already given $2 million to the effort.
Howard County Executive Dr Calvin Ball says it’s money well spent.
“Together we can ensure that on some of our most difficult days or the most difficult days of our family members, we can have our neighborhood hospital have the resources that they need to be successful because when they’re successful, we’re successful,” Dr. Ball says.
For more information about “Together: Let’s Support our Neighborhood Hospital”, visit the hospital’s website https://aspire.hopkinsmedicine.org/g/together-jhhcmc
Make sure to check out this video that explains in depth why this campaign is so important.
About Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center
Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, formerly Howard County General Hospital, is a not-for-profit health care provider with 262 licensed beds located in Columbia, Maryland. A comprehensive, acute-care medical center, it offers a full range of services, from neonatal care and oncology to outpatient treatment and critical care.
The medical center has a professional staff of nearly 1,000 physicians and allied health professionals, representing 120 specialties and subspecialties and a workforce of nearly 2,000 employees.
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