July 17 Quarterly Community Health Meeting Recap
Every quarter, the Coalition for a Healthier Frederick County convenes nonprofits, elected officials, government employees, businesses, community members, and supporters of our work to join us for our Quarterly Community Health Meetings. These quarterly meetings entail important public health updates from our dedicated partners, the Frederick County Health Department and Frederick Health Hospital, as well as our Local Health Improvement Process (LHIP) volunteer-based Workgroups. We also occasionally welcome guest speakers who are positively impacting health and wellness right here in our community.
To kick off our first quarterly meeting of the 2025-2028 LHIP cycle, Malcolm Furgol, Healthier Frederick’s Executive Director, announced that the final 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment was published in May and available on our website here. He was also proud to announce that we have earned the 2025 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency. Earning this seal reflects our genuine commitment to openness, accountability, and the trust of our community. Malcolm also shared that we’ve just launched our new online donation portal via PayPal’s Giving Fund, which allows 100% of donations to go to the cause with no credit card or processing fees. Learn more or donate at https://healthierfrederick.org/donate.
Passcode: Dp.F7LWA
Frederick County Health Department Updates
There have been 11 confirmed rabies cases in Frederick County so far in 2025. Learn more about vaccinations, health department rabies clinics, and other options here.
FCHD’s Maternal Child Health Program has been awarded a grant to increase Doula training and capacity within Frederick County. The program will pay for all doula certification costs for the workshop attendees. For more details and how to register, go to Health.FrederickCountyMD.gov/Doula or call 301-600-3326.
Remembering Love and Restoring Hope event will take place on August 27 at Frederick Community College’s JBK Theater at 7:00pm. This event is held to honor the lives lost to overdoses.
While supplies last, FCHD is providing FREE safe gun storage devices to help keep our community safe. These devices include biometric gun safes, drop down safes, and biometric trigger locks.
On behalf of Frederick Health, Malcolm announced the recent appointment of Dr. Cheryl Cioffi as the new CEO and President of Frederick Health Hospital. Dr. Cioffi will continue to advance excellence in patient care, strengthen new and existing partnerships, and promote community trust. He also shared that Michael McLane has been promoted to Vice President & Chief Operating Officer. In addition, the Frederick Health Prenatal Center is expanding its operations from 3 days a week to 5 days a week.
Next, our four Workgroups shared their visions for their work over the next three years, what they are planning to do thus far, and what direction they would like to head in as the work progresses.
Affordable Housing Workgroup
Sharon Stromberg, member of the Frederick Housing Solutions Task Force, on behalf of Workgroup Lead Ann Ryan, also a member, shared that the Affordable Housing Workgroup has formed a strong partnership with the Task Force to increase the affordable housing supply in Frederick County. Most notably, Sharon shared that no individual making under $25,000 annually can afford “market rate” housing here in Frederick currently. One way the Workgroup plans to address this is to engage with the community and educate the public about the importance of housing as a Social Determinant of Health (SDoH). Currently, the most vulnerable community members are living on very low fixed incomes. The Workgroup will be working to increase the supply of homes with rents under $500 a month for this demographic.
Affordable Healthy Food Workgroup
Summer McClellan, Healthier Frederick’s Program Manager, on behalf of Workgroup Lead and Farm to School Frederick’s Executive Director Alysia Feuer, shared that the vision for the Workgroup is a Frederick County where everyone is nourished by healthy, affordable food, and where community leaders and advocates are committed to bold and sustainable action that brings nutritious food to every table. 2025 CHNA data showed that one in seven (14%) of Frederick County residents are sometimes or often worried their food would run out before they had the money for more, and nearly 4 in 5 (80%) of consumers do not eat the recommended amount of fruits or vegetables on an average day, with cost and time being major contributors for this. The Workgroup plans to advocate for more nutritious Frederick County Public School (FCPS) menu options, provide education on nutrition and agriculture, and create a culture and connection to affordable, healthy food.
Mental Health
Marci Corea, Healthier Frederick’s Workgroup Coordinator, on behalf of Workgroup Lead and Love for Lochlin's Executive Director Brooke DeSantis, shared that the vision for the Workgroup is a community where mental health is openly discussed and recognized and understood as an essential part of wholistic health, and where there is an expansive knowledge of local resources and increased visibility of support systems. The Workgroup plans to promote the fact that well-being is more than providing access to care. It involves increasing awareness of resources and supportive environments, ensuring people feel seen and heard by others, including medical providers, and empowering people to prioritize their own mental health.
Institutional and Systemic Racism
Marci Corea, Healthier Frederick’s Workgroup Coordinator, shared that Frederick County, MD enjoys one of the most culturally rich and diverse communities in the state, yet the legacy of unfair and unjust systems still looms large over many minorities. This results in negative health outcomes for members of minority communities in Frederick. Healthier Frederick is excited to announce a collaboration with the Black Health Equity Coalition (BHEC)! The FCHD has been working with the BHEC to study and address the Black Maternal Health crisis in Frederick County, and with this partnership, Healthier Frederick aims to leverage our Institutional and Systemic Racism Workgroup to support the capacity of this initiative.
If you’re interested in joining a Workgroup, visit https://healthierfrederick.org/priorities/join-a-workgroup to learn more and complete the Workgroup Interest Form, available in English and Spanish.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for this exciting meeting, and to all those involved in keeping our strong community health improvement momentum flowing. We appreciate each and every one of our volunteer Workgroup members and supporters of this work.