TidalHealth receives $26k grant for healthcare on Smith Island

SMITH ISLAND, Md. – TidalHealth has received a $26,000 grant from the Somerset County Health Department to support enhanced health opportunities on Smith Island.

Due to limited access to primary care on the island, residents are at higher risk for unmanaged health conditions. This funding will support TidalHealth’s efforts to improve, expand, and enhance healthcare on the island.

We’re told this funding would go towards critical upgrades to the clinic, blood pressure cuffs for patients, transportation vouchers for the clinical team, patient education supplies, medical equipment, and clinic renovations.

TidalHealth currently supports acute care, health education, prevention, and telehealth to roughly 200 residents on Smith Island. Residents would have no direct access to healthcare without this partnership.

From March to November, a team of providers including a physician, nurse practitioner, and pharmacist visit the island every other week on average. New primary care provider appointments are offered to community members without a primary care provider, and telehealth and acute in-person visits take place through a nurse practitioner. A medical assistant with TidalHealth lives on the island to provide support for chronic disease prevention and management, medication management, referrals, and follow-up post discharge and emergency department visits.