Special to The Dorchester Banner/UMSMC at Easton UM Shore Regional Health Board of Directors: Back Row (from left) Kathleen Deoudes, J. Wayne Howard, Wayne Gardner Sr., Keith McMahan, Stuart Bounds, Ph.D., Daniel Saunders. Middle Row: Robert Swam, William Washington, Richard Loeffler, Geoff Oxnam, Linda Ruane, Michael Joyce, MD. Front Row: Deborah Davis, MD, John Ashworth, John Dillon, Kenneth Kozel, Martha Russell, David Milligan, Ed Frye. Not Pictured: Charles Capute, Joseph Ciotola, Robert Chrencik, Marlene Feldman.

EASTON — University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) announces the appointment of four new members to its Board of Directors. John Dillon of Oxford chairs the 24-member Board, which consists of business and community leaders and physicians from throughout the five-county region served by UM SRH.

Joining the Shore Regional Health Board are: Kathleen Deoudes, Queenstown; J. Wayne Howard, Preston; Geoffrey F. Oxnam, Easton; and Thomas Stauch, M.D., Trappe.

Kathleen Deoudes is retired from a career as a Legislative Aide in the Maryland Senate. She was a key member of the fundraising team for the freestanding UM Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown and chairs its Community Association. She is chair of the Board of Directors for Hospice of Queen Anne’s. In 2013, she was named Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay. She received her BA in Sociology from Trinity University, in Washington DC.

J. Wayne Howard works as a health care consultant with Ray & Associates, LLC. He retired in 2010 as President and CEO of Choptank Community Health System (CCHS). He serves on the Mid-Shore Community Foundation Board; Caroline County Mental Health Advisory Board; and the Caroline County Health Task Force. He holds a BS in Education from University of Bridgeport and a MS in Human Resource Management from Wilmington University.

Geoffrey Oxnam is the Vice President of Operations at Easton Utilities. He is involved in a variety of community activities and boards, including the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Board; Easton Rotary; Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore; and Maryland Broadband Cooperative, Inc, Board. In 2013, he was named Talbot County Business Man of the Year. He received his BA from Williams College and his MBA from The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School.

Thomas Stauch, M.D. is an orthopedic surgeon at the Orthopedic Center in Easton. He received his undergraduate degree from Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania and his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He completed his orthopedic residency at George Washington Hospital in Washington D.C. and a hand/upper extremity fellowship at St. Lukes/Roosevelt Hospital in New York.

Current board members also include: Michael D. Joyce, M.D., Richard Loeffler and David Milligan of Cambridge; Deborah Davis, M.D., Edwin R. Fry, C. Daniel Saunders, Esq. and William J. Washington of Chestertown; Keith McMahan of Federalsburg; Stuart Bounds, Ph.D., Charles Capute, Wayne L. Gardner Sr., James Peterson and Martha Russell of Easton; Joseph J. Ciotola, M.D. of Grasonville; John Dillon of Oxford; John W. Ashworth of St. Michaels; Marlene Feldman of Trappe; Robert Swam of Worton; Kenneth Kozel, CEO,UM SRH; and Robert A. Chrencik, CEO, UMMS.

“The diverse backgrounds, leadership skills and business experience of our new board members will enhance our Board of Directors and continue to position us to meet the current and future health care needs of the people served by Shore Regional Health,” comments John Dillon, chairman of the UM Shore Regional Health board of directors. “We look forward to their insights and contributions in helping UM SRH perform its mission of creating healthier communities together within the five counties of the Mid-Shore region.”

“With our board reflective of very strong representation of people who live and work in our communities and who are committed to ensure our success, I believe we are well positioned  to achieve our vision of being the region’s leader in patient centered care,” says Kenneth Kozel, President and CEO, UM Shore Regional Health.

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is a regional, nonprofit, medical delivery care network that was created in July 1, 2013, through the consolidation of two University of Maryland partner entities, the former Chester River Health and the former Shore Health. The health system just celebrated its one year anniversary as UM Shore Regional Health.