Ocean Pines and Peninsula Regional Medical Center officials host a press conference at the Delmarva Health Pavilion in Ocean Pines, last Thursday. The hospital is a diamond sponsor of Ocean Pines’ 50th anniversary and donated $12,000 to help fund community events during the yearlong celebration.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(May 3, 2018) “We just can’t thank PRMC enough,” Jennifer Cropper-Rines, chairwoman of Ocean Pines’ 50th Anniversary Committee, said at the outset of a press conference last Wednesday.

Peninsula Regional Medical Center, based in Salisbury but also an anchor tenant of the Delmarva Health Pavilion in Ocean Pines, officially became a diamond sponsor of the 50th anniversary after handing over a $12,000 check to help fund the yearlong celebration.

“We’ve planned a series of events over the course of the summer and we’re really looking forward to encouraging the neighborhood to take advantage of their amenities, to meet their neighbors, to learn about the facilities … all of those things Ocean Pines has and shares,” Cropper-Rines said.

She added that because of construction of the Richard A. Henson Cancer Institute inside the health pavilion, “beach-area residents can find quality care in their own backyard. We think that’s really great for us.”

PRMC Vice President of Ambulatory Services and Corporate Compliance Officer Tim Feist said many years of effort went into building a strong relationship between the hospital system and community.

He said services in the Pines now include family medicine, lab services, pharmacy services, adult fitness programs, “and certainly the junior board with its world-famous chicken salad and chocolate chip cookies.”

“The Richard A. Henson Cancer Institute really is world renowned. It has an exceptional team there [and] exceptional providers. And it’s the only commission on cancer accredited for service in the county, and we’re very, very proud of that and very, very happy to be here and offering that service,” Feist said.

“Half a century is nothing to sneeze at,” he continued. “We look forward to a wonderful summer of many different events in your community.”

Vice President of Strategy and Business Development and Chief Business Officer Christopher Hall said there was never any doubt PRMC would become a key anniversary sponsor.

“What we looked at is to be the exclusive health care sponsor, to cover all events and to be partnering since we’re adjacent to the north gate entrance,” he said. “We are part of the community as well, so we’re honored and very privileged to be a part of the 50th anniversary celebration.”

PRMC President and CEO Steve Leonard said the Ocean Pines health pavilion is a model for other communities.

“As we work throughout the region, our intent is to continue and build up this campus, as well as replicate services throughout,” he said.

Leonard said a freestanding endoscopy center would soon break ground and bring new specialists to the community. He added the pavilion provided, “really everything the residents of Ocean Pines and the surrounding community need short of a hospital bed.”

“We’d rather keep you out of the hospital [and] keep folks healthy and well, and this campus really is the model for the region,” Leonard said. “We couldn’t be more proud to be here and be part of the celebration.”

Association President Doug Parks thanked PRMC for the donation.

“To have these kinds of services basically in our backyard is not only a benefit for now, but will be a continued benefit,” Parks said. “Let’s hope that the 50th anniversary celebration is as joyful and as productive as we can make it.”

Ocean Pines General Manager John Bailey said the community has been successful for five decades because of “continued growth, additions and improvements in the greater community of Worcester County.”

“In addition to the Ocean Pines amenities and programs, the association residents are indeed blessed to have great service providers close by,” Bailey said. “All the small businesses contribute to the community, as well as this phenomenal array of medical services and facilities led by PRMC.

“A huge thanks to PRMC for their service and dedication to improving the health of our community and to enhancing the draw of people to this area, and specifically to Ocean Pines,” he continued. “And, in the immortal words of Jerry Maguire, ‘show me the money.’”

For more information on the 50th anniversary including a list of upcoming events, visit www.oceanpines.org/ocean-pines-celebrates-50-years-excellence.