OUR PEOPLE, GIVING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

As a not-for-profit organization, GBMC exists to serve the community. Our HealthCare system is “owned” by the community and a group of people from our community, the Board of Directors, oversee it and hold the CEO accountable for serving the mission every day. The directors give of their time and talent to help GBMC. The Chairman of the Board, Harry Johnson, Esq., has served on our board for more than 10 years and has been involved with GBMC since the 1980’s.

Harry Johnson, Esq.

This is why many of us within the GBMC family felt privileged to have attended the Boy Scouts of America’s Whitney Young Jr. Achievement Award ceremony last week, honoring our Chairman Harry Johnson.  It was a true honor to attend this ceremony and pay tribute to a great community leader.

The Whitney Young Jr. Achievement Award is presented to a member of the community in recognition of their involvement in the development of scouting opportunities for youth from rural or low-income backgrounds. In Harry’s brief acceptance speech he spoke about his dad, who was a Boy Scout leader in Maryland in the early 1960s when Maryland was still segregated. His father led an all-black troop and had to deal with many issues stemming from racial inequality. But Harry’s father was a leader and helped these young boys, including his son, Harry, become leaders and contributing members of their community.

Harry is an accomplished attorney and partner at the law firm Whiteford, Taylor and Preston, yet he finds time to volunteer and give back to numerous organizations. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Board at GBMC, Harry is also very active with the Maryland State Bar Association including the Maryland State Bar Foundation board of directors as well as many others. Harry is a shining example of someone who has dedicated himself to giving back to the community, and GBMC has certainly benefited from Harry’s service and leadership. We are very proud of Harry and grateful for all that he has given to GBMC.

Stroke Center Award

I also want to congratulate our rapidly growing Center for Neurology and GBMC’s Primary Stroke Center which, under the leadership of James Bernheimer, MD and Tracy Lamb, MSN, CRNP, CRN,   recently received the Gold Plus award from Get with the Guidelines®. The award is given by The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association in recognition to hospitals that have achieved 85% or higher adherence to all Get with the Guidelines Stroke Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12 month intervals. The award also recognizes hospitals with at least 12 consecutive months of 75% or higher compliance with five or more Get with the Guidelines Stroke Quality measures to improve quality of patient care and outcomes.

This award is the result of the hard work and commitment of our entire stroke team and demonstrates GBMC’s high level of commitment and expertise in caring for stroke patients. With an aging population, we are at the ready to provide superior care to all GBMC stroke patients day in and day out. Great work!

It’s beginning to look a lot like an HFG Christmas!

Yes, the turkey steals the show at Christmas, but that shouldn’t mean your side dishes pale in comparison. Here are some extra-special festive ideas to bring to the table…

Stuffed apples

Prep 10 min

Cook 35 min

Makes 8

1tbsp olive oil

½ onion, finely chopped

100g cooked and peeled chestnuts, roughly chopped

25g fresh breadcrumbs

2tbsp chopped fresh parsley

A few fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked

10 fresh sage leaves, finely shredded

Good grating of fresh nutmeg

Finely grated zest of ½ lemon

8 eating apples (such as braeburn)

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Heat the oil in a frying pan, then add the onion and cook over a low heat for 10 min. Set aside to cool.

2 Put the chestnuts in a large bowl with the breadcrumbs, herbs, nutmeg and lemon zest. Add the cooked onion and mix to combine.

3 Carefully core each apple and score a line around the equator (to prevent the skin splitting). Spoon the stuffing into the cavity of each apple, piling it up slightly, then place the apples in a large baking tin.

3 Bake for 20 min or until tender, then serve.

Per serving: 95kcal, 1.1g protein, 1.9g fat, 0.3g saturates, 19.6g carbs, 13.3g sugar, 3.3g fibre, 0.1g salt, 18mg calcium, 0.4mg iron

Get-ahead tip

Keep the cooled stuffing in a sealed food bag or container for up to 3 days in the fridge. On Christmas morning, assemble and stuff the apples, cover loosely with a clean tea towel and leave in a cool place (outside if there’s no space elsewhere) until ready to cook. Or prepare the stuffing without the herbs, then freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost at room temperature overnight, then add the herbs and continue from step 3.

More ideas on the side…

* For roasts and casseroles: slow-cook sliced red cabbage with red onions, sliced apple, a handful of dried cranberries, a little brown sugar, orange juice and a cinnamon stick until tender.

* For the Boxing Day buffet: make a robust winter salad by mixing shredded sprouts, cauliflower and red or white cabbage with chopped apple and celery, and a handful of mixed nuts or seeds.