Maryland health panel hears progress on Health Equity Resource Communities grants

At a Jan. 24 briefing of the Health and Government Operations Committee, the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission (CHRC) outlined early progress on the Health Equity Resource Communities (HERC) program, saying it has awarded 12 grantees $41.5 million for five‑year projects to address chronic disease, mental health and maternal and child health disparities.

The briefing — led by Mark Lochner, executive director of the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission, and HERC project director Nellie Washington — summarized results from a two‑year pilot called Pathways to Health Equity and described monitoring, technical assistance and community outreach the commission will use during HERC’s five‑year implementation period.

CHRC officials said the 2022–24 Pathways pilot funded nine grantees with roughly $13.5 million, served more than 11,000 Marylanders and produced reductions in hospital charges and emergency‑department costs. "We take that role of being a public steward of the public fisc very seriously," Mark Lochner told the committee, describing CHRC’s ongoing oversight of about 200 open grants totaling roughly $210 million.

Nellie Washington said HERC will run from 2024 through 2029, with 12 grantees…