- News & Press Releases, Women's Health, Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogToday’s uncertainties with COVID-19 likely raise additional concerns in your mind as you prepare for your labor and delivery. Know that we hear you and so many others who are faced with similar challenges. Here are some of the most frequent questions we are hearing. As you know, things are changing rapidly. Keep checking our website for up-to-date policies and procedures that may apply during your stay with us. We will continue to add to these questions as we work together to explore ways to make your experience a good one despite these extraordinary times. How will the COVID-19 restrictions affect my routine prenatal care? Right now, we advise pregnant mothers to keep their routine appointments. Should this need to change, your provider will notify you. You may receive a call from us before your appointment to screen for any symptoms and exposures or to check your travel history. We will provide advice around these questions and assess whether to have you come to the office or schedule a telehealth visit. Can a support person come with me to my prenatal appointments? We realize that someone may bring you to and from your appointments and we ask that only you come inside the office for your appointment. Please have your support person stay outside of our waiting areas. In our office settings, we want to be mindful of social distancing. More people in our waiting areas makes it difficult to follow social distancing guidelines. The safety of you and your family is our priority. How will COVID-19 restrictions change my birth plan? While every birth plan is different, some of the updates we announced may have an impact on visitation during your stay. Visitors are limited to one consistent support person throughout the duration of your labor, delivery and postpartum care. Rest assured that your support person can be with you in the delivery room and spend the night with you and your baby the entire time you are with us. This policy change protects you and your baby and protects the health and safety of our workforce. Caring for our frontline staff is a high priority so that they can continue to work to deliver our babies and care for our families now and in the weeks ahead. Will I be tested for COVID-19 before my delivery? If you are being admitted for delivery, we have universal COVID-19 testing procedures in place, documented here in English and Spanish. If I test positive, will my baby and I be separated after birth? We are no longer advising separation if the mother tests positive, based on new recommendations and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and others. You may choose to keep your baby in the room to maximize the benefits of direct newborn care. We ask that mom and baby stay spaced six feet apart and that mom wears a mask and practices good hand hygiene before breastfeeding or other direct newborn care. If you prefer, we can arrange to care for your baby in our NICU to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 to your baby while in the hospital. If mom chooses temporary separation, we will gladly provide a hospital-grade breast pump for breastmilk expression during admission. Does my support person have to be the same person throughout my entire stay? If that initial person leaves, can someone else take their place as the one visitor? We ask that you have the same support person throughout your stay. This person should limit coming and going from the hospital to reduce the chances of exposure. Can my doula accompany me during my stay, along with my support person? Yes, we welcome doulas back into the hospital as part of your care team, along with one family member/support person. Your doula may be present with you through labor and delivery and postpartum. We do not consider doulas visitors. Rather, they are part of the care team. Attending doulas are not interchangeable with an additional family member/support person. One person may be present with patients delivering in an operating room. The support person selected to be present is the choice of the mother. In addition to our general health and safety guidelines around PPE use and hand hygiene, we also ask doulas to check in with the charge nurse upon entry to the unit and provide identification, a copy of their formal patient agreement and their doula certification. How long will these restrictions be in place? We cannot determine when we will lift restrictions until COVID-19 infection rates decline. There are many experts looking at our nation’s infection rates to understand when we might begin to experience a decline in COVID-19 cases. We will continue to do what is best to keep you, your baby and our staff safe. Our healthcare providers are ready with knowledge and support. They are resilient. They are not skipping a beat when it comes to caring for our patients and families safely. While these are extraordinary times, we are dedicated to continuing our compassionate care for new life, for our mothers, for our families and for each other. Originally published March 23, 2020. Last updated Sept. 22, 2020.0
- News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogRebecca “Becky” Fortney (formerly Becky Greco) was a true champion of our community. She lent her time and philanthropic support to several wonderful non-profit organizations in Anne Arundel County. Becky had a busy schedule running a successful real estate business and caring for several members of her family. Still, she found time to be a supporter for healthcare in our region by serving on the AAMC Foundation Board of Directors from 2003 to 2011. Becky was sensitive to those who did not have the resources to access care. Over nearly two decades of support for AAMC, Becky provided more than $500,000 to fund: A safe room for victims of domestic violence in the Emergency Room. Programs and facilities for breast healthcare. Facilities within the Geaton and JoAnn DeCesaris Cancer Institute. Sadly, Becky passed away unexpectedly in the summer of 2014, but her legacy lives on. Becky made a significant planned gift to AAMC through her estate to support breast health and geriatric care at AAMC. To honor her commitment, The Breast Center on the main AAMC campus was renamed The Rebecca Fortney Breast Center at a ceremony held on March 29, 2016. It is the Fortney family’s hope, and ours, that Becky’s compassion, spirit, courage and legacy will serve as a source of inspiration and strength to all of the patients and families who receive care in The Rebecca Fortney Breast Center for many years to come.0
- Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogLuminis Health partners with the Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) system, providing healthcare learning opportunities and career counseling to students as they train for their future careers. Both the Center of Applied Technology (CAT) North in Severn and CAT South in Edgewater are part of AACPS and prepare students for career pathways by offering experiential learning, post-secondary credits and industry certifications. In addition to providing CAT students with opportunities to practice clinical skills, Luminis Health hires them as interns and both temporary and permanent team members. Bennett Chateauneuf shares how he has benefited from this partnership. Bennett Chateauneuf is a senior who recently graduated from Broadneck High School in Annapolis. He worked a summer job at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center (LHAAMC) in 2022 in Food and Nutrition where his role included delivering meals to patients throughout the hospital, returning used dinnerware to the kitchen and washing and sanitizing dishes. “My job in Food and Nutrition helped me come out of my shell a little bit,” Bennett says. “I became more comfortable with introducing myself to patients and making sure they knew who I was.” His summer position with LHAAMC’s Food and Nutrition team helped him ease his way into the next step he had mapped out for his future: a degree as a certified nursing assistant (CNA). In this role, he would have the opportunity to provide basic bedside patient care—such as checking vitals — and other patient-centered tasks under the supervision of licensed nursing staff. Bennett applied and was accepted into CAT South’s Academy of Health Profession, a 2-year program offered to 11th and 12th grade students. This program empowers students to become multi-skilled health care providers. “I have always loved talking to people, helping them and being in an environment where I’m communicating with a team,” Bennett says. Luminis Health’s partnership with CAT South means that Bennett and his classmates were able to complete 20 hours of hands-on clinical training at LHAAMC. Having worked in Food and Nutrition the previous summer, Bennett felt right at home—his classmates relied on his familiarity with the facility to help them navigate. “I knew my way around the entire hospital and my peers were able to rely on me for directions,” he recalls. “I knew where everything was.” After graduation, Bennett knew that he wanted to apply the skills he had learned as a student at CAT South to a job as a CNA at LHAAMC: “The people who work at LHAAMC are super nice,” he says. “It’s a great community and it’s the largest hospital in the Annapolis area, so they’ve got cool high-tech equipment that you just don’t see at other facilities. There’s nothing else like Luminis Health in Maryland.” Bennett’s dedication and focus paid off when he was hired as a CNA at LHAAMC. He officially started his role at the hospital this month. For Bennett, this is just the beginning of a well-considered career plan: his ultimate goal is medical school, where he would like to earn a degree in anesthesiology. CAT South and Luminis Health’s collaboration has played an important role in helping him achieve his dream of helping others through a healthcare career. AACPS students can get involved in this program by speaking with their instructors about the CAT Academy of Health. Beyond this partnership, Luminis Health has a variety of job shadow, student volunteer and internship opportunities for any student who may be interested in the healthcare field.0
- Men's Health, Physical Therapy, Women's HealthGeneral Page Tier 3BlogDry needling is a technique that has been around for decades, yet many people remain unfamiliar with it. Specially trained physical therapists use dry needling to relieve pain and improve range of motion for patients. Dry needling evolved from trigger point therapy. Muscles often form trigger points, or contracted knots, if they’re stressed or strained. “Dry” refers to the fact that no fluids, such as anesthetics or saline, are injected into the trigger point. What is occurring at the cellular level with dry needling is a complex process. However, a shortened version is the needle inserts into a trigger point in the muscle, which elicits a twitch response. This causes the body to activate an immune response to help healing and decrease pain. In addition, increased blood flow to the area occurs. The needles are single-use, thin filiform needles, similar to those used for acupuncture. The gauge and length of the needles may vary. Dry needling is not the same as acupuncture, even though similar needles are used. Acupuncture is based upon traditional Chinese medicine, while dry needling is based upon Western medicine. Traditional Chinese acupuncture uses needles to direct energy, while physical therapists use dry needling to release tight muscles. With acupuncture the needles go into meridian pathways, while with dry needling the needles go in to trigger points to reduce pressure and pain. Dry needling often evokes a localized twitch response that helps decrease muscle contraction, improve flexibility and decrease pain. Dry needling can help many chronic and acute conditions. This includes conditions where manual physical therapy techniques haven’t reduced pain sufficiently. Dry needling can help treat many diagnoses including, but not limited to, chronic neck and back pain, headaches, and overuse injuries. Overuse injuries include tendinitis of the rotator cuff, tennis elbow, runner’s knee, etc. Not everyone is an ideal candidate for dry needling. While dry needling can benefit many, there are some who are not good candidates. This includes those with needle phobia or who have a history of an abnormal reaction to an injection. Those with lymphedema or who are in their first trimester of pregnancy may not be ideal candidates either. Dry needling is not for those with unmanaged blood-clotting or immune-system disorders. Plus, the American Physical Therapy Association does not recommend dry needling for children younger than 12. Always check with your medical provider or physical therapist if you have concerns. Trigger points are often the result of lack of mobility of a joint, muscular weakness, repetitive stress and/or improper movement patterns. They are the “effect.” In order to restore normal function, we must treat the “cause.” Dry needling is just one tool a physical therapist may use in your treatment plan to achieve this goal. Authors Melissa Lambiasi, DPT, is a physical therapist certified to perform dry needling with Anne Arundel Medical Group (AAMG) Physical Therapy. She works in AAMG Physical Therapy’s new Severna Park office and can be reached at 443-481-1140.0
- Giving, News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogIn a remarkable display of kindness and community spirit, students at Southern High School in Harwood, Maryland have made a significant contribution to the Thomas J. Frank Family Birth Center and Teddy’s Place Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center (LHAAMC). Students from the National Honors Society and Future Farmers of America collectively raised $6,000 and donated handmade baby blankets to support the care of sick and premature babies. Students, administrators and club advisors presented the check and blankets to members of the hospital’s care team. “This is a great example of young people in our community supporting our precious newborns and their families,” said Dr. Monica Jones, chair of Luminis Health’s Women’s and Children’s services. “Since our Level III NICU treats close to 800 newborns each year, these students’ generosity will help us provide specialized care to the tiniest and most vulnerable members of our community.” Dr. Jones personally thanked the students by saying “you are a friend of ours forever.” The students raised the money by hosting a “Stroller Roller” 3K walk/run/stroll event. Rising senior Brenna Kadjeski came up with up with the idea for the service project to honor the doctors and nurses in the NICU who treated her twin sisters. “Whenever we talk about this project in our house, it’s just a bunch of smiles. It’s a sense of pride like yes, we gave back to the NICU. It’s not just me doing something, it’s the whole family. We were able to repay them for what they did for our family, they went above and beyond for my siblings, my mom and my dad,” said Kadjeski. The donations will support various initiatives, including critical medical treatments, lodging, and educational materials for families. The handmade blankets will provide babies a sense of security by keeping them warm and safe. “The students from Southern High School students should be commended by demonstrating the true spirit of compassion and empathy through this remarkable contribution,” said Elizabeth Gross, vice-president of the Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation. “Their generosity and dedication remind us all of the power of making a positive difference in the world, and their efforts serve as an inspiration to others to contribute to those who need it the most.”0
How can we help?
Common Searches
Common Searches
Log in with MyChart
Access personalized site features & view your health records.
Learn more about MyChartDon’t have a MyChart account?
Your Account
View your Dashboard
Messages
Billing Summary
Find Care
Schedule Appointment
My Care Team
My Record
Appointments
Medications
Insurance Summary
Log in with MyChart
Access personalized site features & view your health records.
Learn more about MyChartDon’t have a MyChart account?