Developed with community leaders in Brooklyn Park and Pumphrey, the new program provides free screenings, classes and resources for Anne Arundel County residents living in medically underserved areas.

GLEN BURNIE, Md. (December 23, 2025) – The University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System, has launched a new faith-based chronic disease prevention initiative in partnership with local churches in the Brooklyn Park and Pumphrey communities of Anne Arundel County. Developed with community leaders, the program aims to address leading health concerns and reduce barriers to care in underserved populations. 

Through partnerships with Community Baptist Church and St. John United Methodist Church, the program provides free preventive health education, resources and screenings focused on conditions such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease. The initiative recently celebrated the graduation of its first cohort totaling 49 participants, ages 62 to 91, during an in-person ceremony at UM BWMC’s Outpatient Care Center. 

Many health emergencies in Anne Arundel County stem from preventable chronic diseases. The 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) found that seven of the top 10 leading causes of death in Maryland are directly related to a chronic health condition – accounting for at least two-thirds of all annual deaths. Access to preventive care which could help mitigate these conditions remains limited, with factors such as transportation, cost, health literacy, system navigation and inconsistent primary care particularly affecting Black residents in the county. 

Predominantly Black communities such as Brooklyn Park and Pumphrey face disproportionate economic and environmental barriers, leading to higher inpatient admissions and emergency department visits. Black residents are also several times more likely than white residents to receive emergency care for diabetes and hypertension, and CHNA findings further show Black respondents report higher rates of diabetes (36.8%) as well as heart disease and high blood pressure (34.5%). 

In response to this growing need, the Community Outreach Team at UM BWMC partnered with church leaders to develop a new faith-based health education program. Community health nurses and specialists collaborated closely with congregations on a course of action that would best help the community at large.

“At UM BWMC, we are committed to addressing pervasive health challenges affecting our community by partnering with trusted local organizations to bring health education and resources directly to residents,” said Kathy McCollum, President of UM BWMC. “By working alongside faith leaders and community advocates, we empower neighbors with information on conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease so they can support their own health and the wellbeing of others. We are committed to expanding these partnerships and programs across Anne Arundel County and the regions we serve to create healthier communities.”

Free weekly classes were held over the course of three months at Community Baptist Church. The program also extended to the congregation at St. John United Methodist Church, located across the street. Together, the two churches serve as a hub for residents of Pumphrey and Brooklyn Park. 

“For programs like this to be successful, it really required a partnership between UM BWMC and the community,” said Tonia Lewis, RN, a community health nurse coordinator at the hospital who helped organize the program and led several of the program sessions. “It was important for us to not only operate from a clinical standpoint, but also an emotional one. We had ideas for the program, but we really needed to hear from the people to ensure this would be a resource they want to participate in.”

Lewis, along with Kelsey Weed, a community health specialist at UM BWMC, set out to strengthen the bond between local Black communities and their area hospital. The new program featured guest speakers from UM BWMC in Community Health and Population Health and the Kidney Care team at University of Maryland Medical Center’s downtown campus. The Chronic Disease Prevention and Management Program emphasized the importance of health advocacy and provided a safe space for residents to learn how to voice their concerns with primary care physicians. Participants were encouraged to be “the CEO of your health” and to “know their numbers” when it comes their lab work, including blood pressure, weight, and A1C.  The Community Outreach Team also trained “health ambassadors” as certified facilitators to teach course curriculum and administer blood pressure screenings to those who did not enroll in the 12-week intensive. 

“Once the community became aware of all the advantages of the program, they quickly joined in,” said Reverend Bernadette Armwood of St. John United Methodist Church, a recent graduate of the program. 

Gloria Little – another program graduate and president of the nurses ministry at Community Baptist Church – remarked how the professionalism of the outreach team and quality of content persuaded community members to stick with the 12-week initiative. “Those ladies [Lewis and Weed] provided so much information that kept the interest going, and people kept coming back.”

The program is creating a positive impact on the health of the community. In August 2025, 75% of program participants were diagnosed with high blood pressure at the first screening. Of that group, 90% reported taking medication for high blood pressure prior to the start of the program. Nearly half of participants were also prediabetic at their initial health screening.

By the end of the program, those numbers had significantly improved:

• 51% of participants saw a reduction in their blood pressure
• 35% had reduced their A1C levels
• 67% had lost weight, and
• 63% had decreased their body mass index (BMI) 

“Everyone in the community knows and loves UM BWMC,” remarked Gloria Little. “With everything that’s happening in the world, who else goes around helping other people understand their health?”

UM BWMC’s Community Outreach team will continue to partner with Community Baptist Church and St. John United Methodist Church by conducting quarterly follow-ups that address other health concerns identified by the congregations, such as access to care, vaccinations and additional education. They also plan to expand the program to other churches in Brooklyn Park, beginning with the Brooklyn Community United Methodist Church this spring – another congregation led by Reverend Armwood.

“I can’t say enough about this program and how it has impacted the community at large,” added Reverend Armwood. “They have been so caring and professional. They made the program what it is because of their genuine care.”

To learn more about UM BWMC’s Community Outreach initiatives, visit umbwmc.org/community. For more information on Heart Care, Kidney Care, and Diabetes services, visit the UM BWMC website at umbwmc.org.

About the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center

The University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC) is a 310-bed medical center committed to improving the health outcomes of the communities it serves. A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), UM BWMC is located in Glen Burnie (Anne Arundel County) and has more than 3,100 team members and 1,000 medical providers on staff. The medical group provides primary and specialty care services to individuals throughout the region. Together with community providers and faculty from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, UM BWMC offers a wide range of clinical programs including cancer, critical care, emergency, heart, lung, neurosciences, orthopedics, pediatric, primary care, vascular, and women’s health. For more information, visit umbwmc.org.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high-quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit umms.org.