A Salute to Dr. Patricia Maryland

 

One of Montgomery, Alabama’s most successful natives is Dr. Patricia Maryland. She became the president of Sinai-Grace Hospital in July 2001. She is responsible for operations of the largest hospital in the Detroit Medical Center.

 

Dr. Maryland’s hospital is a 440-bed teaching hospital offering a complete range of medical, surgical, maternity and emergency services. It is estimated that the hospital cares for more than 214,000 patients a year. The Emergency Room alone cares for more than 60,000 patients which means it is the busiest in the city of Detroit.

 

Dr. Maryland is a member of one of the finest families in Montgomery, Alabama. The Maryland family is known throughout Montgomery as a family of high achievers.  Dr. Maryland’s parents should be commended because of the fantastic job they did with raising their children. Many of Dr. Maryland’s siblings have moved on to make notable contributions around America:

 

Willie Maryland Sr. a resident of Racine, Wisconsin is the present founder of the prestigious 1st Charter School (Pioneer).

Debra Maryland Simpkins a resident of Pensacola, Florida is the Assistant Principal of Holmes Elementary School.

Jearlean Maryland Ellis is a Registered Nurse at Troy State.

Deloris Maryland Stoudemire is an educator at Montivello Elementary School in Calera, Alabama.

Josephine Maryland Perry is a longtime and dedicated employee of the State of Alabama.

Cornelius Maryland is a Radiation Physicist in Atlanta, Georgia.

Laura Maryland Tucker is a Pollution Control Specialist for the State of Alabama.

 

Dr. Maryland is credited with implementing the following new services and programs at Sinai-Grace:

The Comprehensive Heart Center including a Chest Pain Unit, Open Heart Surgery and Angioplasty.

The Health Enrichment Center including bariatric surgery, weight management, nutrition and healthy living services.

Express Care, a fast track emergency service for minor injuries and illnesses.

A continuation and strong commitment to providing inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services.

Renovated and beautified the surgical lounge, main hospital floor, gift shop, hospital restaurant, chapel and other service areas.

Raised over $150,000 at Sinai-Grace Hospital’s first black-tie affair for the purchase of a left ventricular machine for the Comprehensive Heart Center.

Implemented an aggressive marketing campaign to keep area residents knowledgeable about new services at Sinai-Grace.

Committed to community outreach by way of partnership collaboration, health screenings and speaker’s bureau.

Developed a new team to establish an aggressive approach to help improve customer service issues.

Improved employee communication by holding quarterly “Ask the President” employees forums, picnics, dinners, developing a BI-monthly employee newsletter and conducting rounds on patient floors with hospital directors and managers.

 

The hospital also under the leadership of Dr. Patricia Maryland won the prestigious Siemens Partnership Award for 25 years of service. She is described by her colleagues as strong with a hands-on human and compassionate touch. Under Dr. Maryland’s leadership, Sinai-Grace is without doubt the pivotal provider of healthcare to the Northwest community in Detroit, Michigan.

 

Dr. Maryland received her Master’s Degree in Biostatistics from the University of California, Berkeley. She received her Doctorate of Public Health from my alma mater the University of Pittsburgh concentrating in Health Services Administration and Planning. She received her undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics from Alabama State University. Dr. Maryland has an impressive list of publications ranging from topics on gerontology, community health and emergency medical services systems.

 

She is married to Dr. Samuel Tekyi-Mensah and they are the proud parents of two children.

 

When my kids look for heroes and sheroes I hope that they will look past the Michael Jordans, P Diddys and Hallie Berrys and look for the Dr. Patricia Marylands. Dr. Maryland I proudly salute you for a job well done. You have made your hometown community PROUD!

 

GREG GRIFFIN IS A FREELANCE WRITER. YOU CAN READ HIS PREVIOUS ARTICLES BY LOGGING ON TO HIS WEBPAGE AT www.greggriffin.com