Save Healthcare in Harford County

Let’s get this right!

As an ED doctor I see how too few beds negatively impacts my patients every day.

As a healthcare employee, I see the need for these services on a daily basis. We are doing a great injustice to our Harford County community members if we do not approve these improvements to our healthcare system!

As a Harford County native, and a Clinical Psychologist, I strongly urge the MHCC to support the creation of the Special Psychiatric Hospital at Aberdeen, MD. The state of Mental health care in Harford County, much like the rest of the US, is best described as a Crisis, and should be managed as one.

Unacceptable! So a better option for someone who is in desperate need of psychiatric help is to spend days confined to a stretcher in an emergency department?! That’s therapeutic!

Please !7

Much of the violence we are experiencing in this country is due to poor mental health care.

I have been a practicing primary care Internist in Harford County for 20 years. I have always found it difficult to access behavioral health for my patients and have had to trouble shoot for issues outside my comfort zone. Any reduction in the already too sparse behavioral health coverage is intolerable.

Do not reduce bed capacity, access to acute psych services is a significant problem

This would be a big contribution to the community!

NO to reduction in any bed capacity

Inadequate mental health services greatly impact everyone.

We need this program to continue.

The reduction in beds in Harford County is a substantial public health risk that will result in putting the safety of the Maryland citizens who are or will become ill or injured in jeopardy.

Short-sighted, ill-informed and appears driven by non-transparent factors. Expansion of bed availability, both med/surg and behavioral is critically needed in Harford county and can't come soon enough. Get out of the office and go see for yourself...

I find it ironic that lawmakers "talk" about the need for mental health services but do not actually provide them. They might believe they are providing services, however it would be best to ask those who are actually working in the field as opposed to allowing decisions to be made by those in non-clinical positions

I am a practicing Emergency physician at the Harford Memorial Hospital for the last 41 Years. Harford county needs the medical facilities as proposed by the UM Upper Chesapeake Health. I invite the members of the commision to our Emergency departments to see first hand. Reducing the bed capacity in Harford County may seriously impact the medical care provided to the citizens of our county.

As Harford County continues to grow, it is concerning for medical/surgical cuts and/or lack of expansion is being dismissed. Thank you

As a behavioral healthcare provider who operates a behavioral health private practice in Harford county, I BELIEVE and KNOW first hand the great need for acute behavioral health services not just for adults but also for children/adolescents in Aberdeen/Havre de Grace area based on my daily encounter with families who struggle to find care for their loved ones. The current behavioral health unit is regularly at capacity. Causing unnecessarily long stays for behavioral health patients in the ED. The Bel Air area currently has the Harford Residential Crisis Center. It is only logical to situate the specialty inpatient psychiatric pavilion in Aberdeen/Havre de Grace area to provide adequate ACUTE behavioral health services throughout the county for all residents of Harford Cty rather than have all specialty behavioral health services clustered only in one area. Please it is imperative that you approve the UMUCH CON ASAP. Thank you. Audrey Forka

The community is growing rapidly, the healthcare resources need to catch up.