TidalHealth Breaks Ground on Morris St.

SALISBURY, Md. – TidalHealth broke ground on its new Family Medicine Residency Clinic on Morris Street.

State Del. Sheree Sample-Hughes, D-37, said, “This day is a representation of the hope and the dreams that many have had, who wished that community health care was sitting in their communities, sitting in their backyard.”

Officials turned soil on Morris Street, hoping to expand access to primary care.

Dr. Katherine Goth, program director of the TidalHealth Family Medicine Residency Program, said, “We can cover about 90% of the conditions that people are getting treated for, and if we can catch them early enough, they don’t need to see specialists.”

TidalHealth CEO Steven Leonard said the main goal is to focus on underserved communities and build relationships.

“This clinic, really in the heart of the community, allows a different kind of relationship with the provider and the community member,” Leonard said. “So we’re excited about having it close to home.”

The clinic is also emphasizing community wellness.

“We have a community garden, we have a farmers market, we have a Walk With a Doc program, a walking path that’s going to go around this,” Goth said.

“It’s not just treatment of disease,” Goth added. “It’s prevention of disease.”

The clinic will also provide residency training, with the hope of keeping more doctors on the Shore.

“If you train in an urban environment, you stay in an urban environment,” Leonard said. “Only about 5% of training in this country for physicians is in rural environments, and that’s what we’re doing here.”