Southern Maryland health officers outline services, funding needs as measles, opioid trends draw attention

Delegation meeting — Southern Maryland — March 21, 2025

Calvert County health officer Dr. Teneza Mora and her counterparts in Charles and St. Mary’s counties told the Southern Maryland delegation on March 21 that local health departments provide core population-health services, step in to deliver clinical care where provider shortages exist, and face funding and workforce pressures that could limit emergency response.

The county health officers said the departments focus first on population health — surveillance, education and prevention — but also provide clinical services in gaps such as primary care and behavioral health. "The main mission is to prevent illness and injury and it's really to promote health for our community," Dr. Teneza Mora said.

The presentation outlined routine and emergency public-health functions. Infectious-disease surveillance and response remain central: "As of today, there have been reports of 2 total of 3 cases of measles, 1 in Howard County and 2 in the Prince George's County area," Mora said, noting departments were preparing public messaging, advising providers on testing and facilitating access to post‑exposure prophylaxis as needed.

Public- and environmental-health work described by the officers included restaurant and pool inspections, permitting of wells and septic systems in rural areas, and rabies control. Mora said her county receives "over 200 reports of animal bites to humans each year," and staff coordinate quarantine and follow-up for bite victims, including post‑exposure rabies vaccination when required.

The officers described regular screening programs for chronic “silent” conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, maternal and child health services, cancer-screening initiatives and tobacco- and vaping‑prevention outreach to schools. Mora said the departments provide tobacco-cessation classes and that each county conducts tobacco-education outreach to "over 4,500 students annually." The health departments also run school‑based or school‑linked behavioral‑health and primary‑care services; Charles County recently held a groundbreaking for its first school‑based health clinic at Indian Head Elementary, and Dr. Stephanie Harper said Charles and St. Mary’s have combined revenue, grants and local government support to sustain centers.

The officers emphasized behavioral‑health and substance‑use work. Mora reported a 45% reduction in opioid‑related deaths in Calvert County from 2020 through 2024 and credited coordinated crisis response, outpatient clinics, school‑based therapy and community outreach including naloxone (Narcan) training.

Delegation members asked about whether outreach materials are available in Spanish and other languages. Dr. Diana Abney said Charles County has a staff member dedicated to Spanish interpretation and translation; Harper said St. Mary’s has three certified interpreters and the departments also use the “language line” for less-common languages.

On the role and authority of local departments, Harper described Maryland’s hybrid governance: local health officers operate under a mix of state and local authorities. "There are state and local delegated authorities, state and local funding and state and local supervision," she said, adding that the shared model gives local health officers flexibility to choose state or local processes that best suit emergency response and procurement.

Funding and workforce concerns were a consistent thread. Abney outlined county funding mixes — state and federal categorical grants ("state core"), local matching funds, competitive grants, fee‑for‑service revenue and partner collaborations — and warned underfunding reduces outbreak management capacity, limits services that address health disparities and makes recruiting and retaining public‑health staff harder. "Public health does not... pay a lot of money," Abney said. "If we lose funding... then it's more difficult to recruit staff, and it's not very easy to fill our positions."

Delegation members and officers also discussed Narcan in schools. Officers supported training first: "Narcan has been effective... they have to be appropriately trained," Mora said, and Harper said training students in naloxone administration could be lifesaving if accompanied by appropriate safeguards and adult supervision.

The health officers closed by reiterating the departments’ role as community health strategists that mobilize partners and data to address local needs, while warning that limited resources and workforce shortages — all three counties are designated health professional shortage areas — constrain how fully departments can meet those needs.

The officers made their slide materials available to the delegation and said they remain available for follow‑up questions.