Mikayla Mountain

Recovery Month

The Maryland Department of Health on Friday announced a social media campaign and a Peer Recovery Celebration event to honor Gov. Wes Moore’s proclamation naming September Recovery Month.

Recovery Month is a national observance held every September to raise awareness about substance use, promote evidence-based treatment and practices, support the recovery community, and honor providers and communities who make recovery in all its forms possible. 

The Behavioral Health Administration is also launching a social media campaign to raise awareness on substance use and recovery topics for Marylanders. Each week, the department’s Substance Use Disorders Facebook page will spotlight a different topic.

In partnership with the Maryland Addiction Consultation Service, the department is also promoting a new video featuring Secretary Laura Herrera Scott on how health care providers are essential in addressing the overdose crisis — specifically by prescribing buprenorphine for patients with opioid use disorders.

More information is available at marylandmacs.org and health.maryland.gov/bha.

Mountain joins Shore Health rehab

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services recently welcomed Mikayla Mountain, MS, CCC-SLP, to its outpatient rehab teams in UM Shore Medical Pavilions at Denton and Queenstown.

Mountain joins UM Shore Regional Health from Key Healthcare -The Pines in Easton, where she had served as speech language pathologist/lead therapist since July 2022. During that time, she also worked part-time at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton.

Mountain’s experience also includes working for Chesapeake Speech Therapy Services, LLC, where she provided therapy to children ages 6 to 12 with speech/language disorders enrolled in Queen Anne’s County Public Schools as well as to adult inpatients and outpatients referred by providers at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown.

Mountain earned her Bachelor of Science in Special Education Transition Programming from Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pa., after which she completed a Hearing and Speech Science Post-Baccalaureate Program at University of Maryland in College Park. She earned her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Loyola University of Maryland in Baltimore. Prior to earning her SLP degree, Mountain worked for Queen Anne’s County Department of Health in Centreville, and The Benedictine School in Ridgely.

‘Claws for a Cause’

Final preparations are now underway for “Claws for a Cause,” a crab feast fundraiser set for Thursday from 5:30-9 p.m. at Fisherman’s Crab Deck in Grasonville. The annual event will benefit patient care services at University of Maryland Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown.

Tickets are $100 for adults and $20 for children 13 and under. The buffet will feature all-you-can-eat steamed crabs, fried chicken, pork barbecue and assorted sides. The event will also include a silent auction featuring items such as a raw seafood bar feast for 20 and Baltimore Ravens tickets.

Proceeds from this year’s event will fund the purchase of two electric recliner lift chairs. It will also help fund staff training necessary for Geriatric Emergency Department accreditation for UM Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown.

For more information about Claws for a Cause sponsorships, or to purchase tickets, visit umshoreregional.org/Claws-for-a-Cause or email Stephanie.bryan@umm.edu.

Suicide Prevention Month

The month of September is No Matter What … You Matter Suicide Prevention Month. For All Seasons urges all citizens to actively work toward the prevention of suicide and to reach out to one another.

In the U.S., suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 14 and 25 to 34. In Maryland, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 10- to 34-year-olds. In 2021, one in five Maryland Mid-Shore teens ages 14 to 17 attempted suicide at least once. These statistics are staggering, and these deaths are often preventable.

Ask: “Are you OK? Are you having suicidal thoughts?” Be direct and compassionate. Research shows that asking this question will not put the idea into someone’s mind.

Share: “You are not alone. Help is available.” Connect them to services. For All Seasons is just a phone call away.

Listen: You don’t need to have all the answers. Be fully present without judgment. Allow the person to share their story.

For suicide prevention resources and a step-by-step conversation guide, visit NoMatterWhatYouMatter.org.

For All Seasons’ 24-Hour Crisis Hotlines are English 410-820-5600 and Español 410-829-6143. English/Español text is 410-829-6143. For the National Suicide & Crisis Hotline: Dial 988.

Smoking cessation

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health offers an in-person and participatory five-session workshop titled “Breathe Again: A Journey to a Smoke-Free and Healthier YOU,” designed to help smokers who wish to quit. The class is offered in-person from 1 to 3 p.m., with sessions running through November. There is no charge for the course, but registration is required.

Led by Sandra Wilson-Hypes, health educator for University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown, this course will offer guidance, information, tools and resources to help participants quit smoking.

Remaining course topics include: discussion on the challenges to quitting smoking on Oct. 10; and information, tools and resources to staying smoke free on Nov. 7.