U. of Maryland School of Medicine Program Focuses on Rural Eastern Shore

The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) has launched the Rural Health Equity and Access Longitudinal Elective (R-HEALE) designed to train and place incoming medical students in Eastern Shore healthcare practices. 

UMSOM has received $1.4 million in state funding to launch the effort with additional funding provided by University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the Rural Maryland Council and philanthropic donors.

The program, in partnership with the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), has accepted six current first-year medical students with an interest in rural health. 

Three students have been awarded full-tuition scholarships with a commitment to working on the Eastern Shore for four years after completing residency training. The students will have didactic and mentoring sessions in Baltimore, followed by research and clinical experiences on the Eastern Shore. The long-term goal is to ultimately support 10 new students interested in rural health in this elective program each year, with 10 full in-state tuition scholarships. 

Nearly the entire Eastern Shore is designated by the federal government as a medically underserved area (MUA) and as a “health professional shortage area,” which means residents often lack access to the medical care they need to address pressing health concerns.

A news story on the UMSOM website quotes Mark T. Gladwin, M.D., the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean of UMSOM, and Vice President for Medical Affairs at University of Maryland, Baltimore: “More than one million Maryland residents live in underserved areas and the largest proportion come from rural Eastern Shore counties. This is associated with higher infant mortality rates, shorter life expectancy, and poor health outcomes including complications from diabetes and high blood pressure. We want to provide patients with access to the long-term care they need to both prevent and effectively manage chronic diseases. This first class of physicians represent our long-term commitment to improving rural health outcomes and creating a better quality of life for Marylanders on the Eastern Shore.”