Frederick County Public Schools supports students using Trauma Therapy

Frederick County Public Schools supports students using Trauma Therapy

by Elizabeth Atwood Comment Closed
By Braden Weinel Frederick County Public Schools is turning to a new form of counseling that draws on trauma research to best reach the mental health needs of students. FCPS hired two trauma therapists to work with students starting in the 2022-2023 school year. School staff members can refer a student to meet with a trauma therapist during the school day after getting permission from the student’s parent or guardian. Lynn Davis, coordinator of Mental Health Services for FCPS, said that a teacher or other staff member may be alerted of trauma that a student has faced or is facing from previous knowledge, in conjunction with difficulties in mood, attendance, academic decline and/or other behaviors. All schools in Frederick County have guidance counselors that deal with generalized counseling matters such as bullying and coping skills. Davis said the FCPS staff started to notice that generalized counseling wasn’t impacting students’ mental health in the way they had hoped. “When a child’s been exposed to multiple traumatic stressors,...
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Tragedies prompt expansion of the Critical Incident Stress Management team

by Elizabeth Atwood Comment Closed
By: Rachel Kucharski The budget for the Critical Incident Stress Management team increases over the past two years due to the death of three firefighters. Over this time the firefighters have suffered a line-of-duty death, a firefighter suicide, and active fire death due to COVID. Because of these incidents, it was crucial that the budget needed to grow to renew the focus and funding. Thomas Coe said, “Fortunately with the support of Frederick County Government leaders these programs have become a priority and we are actively working to build on our existing programs to support the need in Fire/Rescue as well as support our other public safety allied agencies.” According to the National Interagency Fire Center, Critical Incident Stress Management is “the selection and implementation of the most appropriate crisis intervention tactics to best respond to the needs of the situation at hand.” The reason for the CISM team is to offer peer-based support to EMS, firefighters, law enforcement, dispatch centers, and other...
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New Crisis Stabilization Center to Open This Summer

by Elizabeth Atwood Comment Closed
By Elizabeth Connelly A walk-in, 24-hour crisis stabilization center is being built in Frederick County to connect individuals with mental health and substance use issues to the services they need The center's purpose is to connect  individuals with mental health and substance use issues to services and also ease the burden on the county’s first responders and hospital by diverting these individuals away from the emergency room because statistically 20% of emergency room visits are mental or behavioral health related according to a county news release. The center will be operated by the Mental Health Association under the direction of the County Health Department. There will be licensed clinical and medical providers, peer support specialists and navigators, and masters and bachelors level mental health professionals.  As a part of the federal omnibus bill Frederick County will receive $1.8 million to be put toward local projects in Frederick, Including $699,000 will be put toward Frederick County’s new center. “​​The Local Behavioral Health Authority (housed in...
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Maryland bill updates law regarding rape and physical resistance

by Elizabeth Atwood Comment Closed
By Christine Wisniewski A bill that would establish that evidence of physical resistance is not required in order to prove sexual assault has held favorable reports and passed its second reading at the Maryland General Assembly as of March 31. The bill was returned to the Senate as of April 5 with no additional amendments and will become effective as of Oct. 1 of this year. Sponsored by Sen. Delores Kelley of Baltimore, the legislation would aid those who have been sexually assaulted but may not have physical signs of resistance on their body. This comes after a shift in view about what constitutes sexual assault, recognizing that some victims may not physically resist assault due to being intoxicated or fearing that resisting may make the attacker angry, resulting in more severe injuries. “Maryland’s law is still archaic,” said Kelley in an article written in January for Baltimore’s ABC2. Kelley continued to say that Maryland is still one of the few states that...
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Young sponsors bill allowing alcohol in barbershops

by Elizabeth Atwood Comment Closed
Timothy Sylvia In another instance of alcohol and business partnership in Frederick county, a bill that would allow licensed barbershops to serve beer and wine to customers has passed its third reading in both the House and Senate and is expected to become law. The bill would allow barbershops in Frederick County to acquire a license to provide up to five ounces of beer or wine per serving to customers. The bill is in response to a similar law, which has been effective since last July and allows beauty salons in Frederick County the same guidelines. This bill would effectively open up alcohol serving to shops with more male-oriented customers. The bill, which was sponsored by Democratic Sen. Ron Young and Republican Sen. Michael Hough, doesn’t allow for the barbershops to sell beer and wine themselves. The shops are allowed to provide beer and wine to customers who have paid for a certain service or are attending a fundraising event held by the...
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Narcan Essential in Combating Overdoses

Narcan Essential in Combating Overdoses

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By James A. Brown Cities all across the country are facing an epidemic that not everyone is aware of. Heroin, a narcotic, is being sold in abundance all over the United States. The drug is known to be cut with other drugs such as floor cleaner and fentanyl making it even more dangerous for users. Frederick Police Chief Edward Hargis explained that some of the heroin coming off the streets has tested as high as 97% pure   The seriousness of the epidemic has been the primary concern for the Frederick Police Department. The heroin in Frederick is mostly linked to gang activity. Gangs are suspected to be the organizations selling heroin in mass amounts. MS-13 and Black Guerilla Family are two of many gangs operating in the Frederick area. When there are multiple gangs operating in similar areas, there is a chance of turf wars going on to protect the areas they are operating in. Heroin coupled with increasing gang activity has...
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Sen. Ronald Young Pushes New Lyme disease Bill After Reports of Multiple False Negative Test Results

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Logan Samuels The Senate Finance Committee voted in favor of a bill requiring healthcare providers to notify patients of the possibility that their negative Lyme disease report could be false. On March 17, a bill supported by Senator Ronald Young concerning laboratory tests for Lyme disease came to the floor of the Senate Finance Committee. In light of reports of various false negative Lyme disease test results in the past, this bill asked healthcare providers to notify all of their patients of the chance that their test results might not be accurate. When a medical provider decides there is a need for Lyme disease testing, a patient undergoes an initial blood test. If the results of this test are positive, the patient undergoes a second blood test. What this bill brings to focus is the fact that while many patients test negative for the first test, many of those negative results are false. Due to this common occurrence, many patients are already carrying...
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Health and Government officials ruled unfavorable for House Bill 1376

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
Health and Government officials ruled unfavorable for health insurers to cover medically necessary air ambulance transportation services. Air ambulance transportation essentially allows aircraft including a helicopter to transport persons to a healthcare facility to receive health care services. House Bill 1376 stated that any insurer or carrier who provided hospital, medical, or surgical benefits, would be covered for medical air ambulance transportation services. However, any carrier must insure that their provider includes a number of additional providers that support the use of air ambulance transport services. Air ambulance companies are licensed to operate by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Service Systems, allowing them to bill a patient or the patient's insurance company provided that such patient received scene transportation. These licenses are valid for one year and can not seek reimbursement from the state. HB 1376 was also effective for local governments that purchased fully insured health plans. This had an affect on small businesses because air transportation services were only eligible for...
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Maryland’s New Marijuana Laws’ Influence on Frederick Workplace Drug Policies

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By Alexa Franklin To what degree will Maryland’s new laws involving the decriminalization and legal medical use of marijuana affect businesses, prospective employees, and drug policies and testing in Frederick County? Probably less than you think. Starting October 2014, the use or possession of 10 grams of marijuana or fewer will be decriminalized and will instead be considered a civil offense. Offenders will be subject to a fine of up to $100 for a first offense. For a second offense, the fine jumps up to $250. The fine can be up to $500 for subsequent offenses. In addition, marijuana has been approved for medicinal use for patients suffering from nausea, seizures, severe pain, and muscle spasms, and will be sold at licensed dispensaries. The employee handbook for the City of Frederick states that the city holds a drug and alcohol-free workplace policy, which applies to all employees who work for the city. Donna Kuzemchak, of Frederick’s Board of Aldermen, said in a video interview that...
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Health Administration Takes a Cut

by CMA 303 Comment Closed
By: Samantha Helmold During the 2015 fiscal year, the Frederick Health Administration has over a 7 percent budget cut, but there was minimal change anywhere else. In 2014, the budget stood at $138,969 and in 2015 the budget dropped to $129,231. So in the course of one year, it dropped $9465, but the question is where did the money go and why did it drop so much. Regina Howell, the budget director, said the money went towards other things this year. “It went towards other post-employment benefits – retiree health care, when people retire we provide health insurance for them and the insurance premiums provide for them.  This is where the money is going.” Howell explained that they accrue the money for the employees while they’re employed so that way when they retire, the money is there waiting for them; they’ll have funding’s later on in life. “We fund this into a trust for the moneys benefit – there was a reduction this year,” said...
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