Featured touring locations include the Irene Davis Pavilion, the Center for Wound Healing, expanded Laboratory and Emergency Departments and a preview of Civista’s newest Physician Practice La Plata Surgical Care.

Thursday, October 18, 5pm-7pm
Civista Medical Center Lobby
Campus Tours and Refreshments

Call 888.332.4847 for more information.

Civista Health, whose largest component is the 130-bed Civista Medical Center, has been operated by UMMS under a management agreement that began in 2009. The renewal terms of the 2009 agreement included a provision for UMMS and Civista Health to affiliate, subject to the approval of both the UMMS and Civista Health Boards.

“The past two years have given us an opportunity to experience what a full partnership with the University of Maryland Medical System could mean for Civista Health and the communities we serve,” said Sara Middleton, Chair of Civista Health’s Board. “UMMS possesses the resources and scale to help us fulfill our mission to provide the finest in health care services to Charles County and all the citizens of Southern Maryland.”

Civista Health and Civista Medical Center will continue to be governed by their own boards and will retain their own foundation. The Civista Health Board will have the ability to nominate a member to the UMMS Board.

“Health care is very local, and to realize our goals of providing effective health care in the communities in which we own hospitals, we must have vibrant, local boards as partners. We are very pleased with the partnership that has formed with Civista and look forward to our future together,” stated Robert Chrencik, president and CEO of UMMS.

Noel Cervino, Civista Health’s Chief Executive Officer, noted that the health system has achieved significant progress during the past two years under UMMS’s management.  The collaborative relationships between the Civista Board of Directors, Medical Staff, Management and Employees improved significantly to enable the organization’s turnaround.  In addition, a solid working relationship between hospital leadership, the Charles County Commissioners and the Charles County delegation formed a strong basis for the improvements that followed.

Working with the UMMS quality leadership, Civista Medical Center implemented a number of clinical quality best practices and Civista is now among the leaders throughout the Medical System in Core Measures, which are nationally recognized indicators of clinical quality.  Charles County is underserved in terms of physicians relative to population, and with the assistance of the UMMS physician recruiting division and in partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Civista has successfully recruited a number of new physicians to the area.  The medical staff and Charles County residents have demonstrated their enhanced trust in Civista by increasing their utilization of the Emergency Department. Inpatient and surgical services volumes have increased as well.

Civista has increased the size of its campus through several land and building acquisitions, growing by 40% over the past two years. Financially, following five consecutive years of losses, Civista Medical Center experienced three consecutive years of operating gains, assuring that it will meet its financial commitments and reserve funds for needed capital upgrades in the future.

“This is a wonderful partnership that has already helped the citizens of Charles County and will continue to help meet the health care needs of our community for years to come,” stated Sen. Thomas “Mac” Middleton.

Cervino and Chief Financial Officer Erik Boas and Chief Medical Officer Mark Dumais, M.D., were employees of UMMS under terms of the management agreement and will continue in their current positions. Employees of the hospital will remain locally directed and employed by Civista Health, and the existing Civista pension and benefit plans will not be affected by the affiliation.

Civista’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Dumais credited hospital leadership with the results: “Our performance is the result of the board of directors focusing the entire organization on delivering quality health care.”

Click here to read the complete article at the Maryland Independent.

Roberto Calderon, M.D.

Dr. Roberto Calderon grew up as the son of an Air Force pilot, and he himself served 12 years of active duty service in the Air Force as both a missile launch officer and as an orthopedic surgeon. After completing medical school at the United States Air Force Academy Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Dr. Calderon served his residency at the University of Arizona. Dr. Calderon is currently the Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Andrews AFB, practicing general orthopedics. Dr. Calderon and his wife currently reside in Alexandria, Virginia. He joined Capital Area Orthopedic Associates in June 2010 as a part-time physician.

Adam Ellison, M.D.

After originally graduating from Brigham Young University with a degree in mechanical engineering, Dr. Adam Ellison received his degree in medicine from The Mayo Medical School in Rochester, New York in 2004. He served a surgical internship at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and served his orthopedic surgery residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He enjoys woodworking in his workshop, and even speaks fluent Italian. Dr. Ellison now serves as an orthopedic surgeon at Capital Area Orthopedic Associates.

Please give a warm welcome to these new Civista Health doctors who are here to serve and care for the people of our community!

Civista Medical Center also asks that visitors please refrain from visiting a patient if you have any of the following:

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Any other flu-like symptoms

For more information on how to take sensible precautions to protect yourself and your family this cold and flu season, see our Flu Public Service Announcement.

For more information about the CDC’s “Take 3” Actions , click here to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flu information website.

For a complete list of nearby flu shot clinics, click here to visit the Charles County Health Department flu information page.

Waldorf native Richard “Dean” Evans, Jr. was more than eager to vote on November 4th. Not only was this a historical election by all accounts, but it would be his first time to vote as he just turned 18 years old last January. Mr. Evans had followed the campaigns closely for many months and knew with certainty which candidate would receive his support.

For a brief time, however, it seemed he would not be able to cast that important vote. On Monday night, Mr. Evans was admitted to Civista Medical Center with severe and sharp abdominal pain, and on Tuesday morning he underwent surgery to remove his appendix.

Jan Black, Civista’s Patient Care Supervisor, understood how significant voting in this election had become to so many voters and to our patients. Early Tuesday morning, with permission to act as the patients’ agent, she went to the local Board of Elections office, picked up absentee ballots, brought them to the patients to cast their confidential vote, and then returned the sealed ballots. Nineteen grateful patients voted from their hospital beds on November 4.

Mr. Evans, clearly a young man who knows what he wants, is majoring in business administration at the College of Southern Maryland and has plans to become a police officer. Later asked if he minded revealing who he voted for last Tuesday, he responded without hesitation, “Barack Obama, of course—and you can put that in capital letters.”

At Civista, we’re very proud to help our patients not only to recover but also to continue their lives outside the hospital. We congratulate our new President and our patients for their contribution to the democratic process.

Best Wishes for a Healthy Autumn!

Christine Stefanides, FACHE
President & Chief Executive Officer
Civista Health, Inc