Mary Alice Vanhoy is as close to a household name as you might find in Queen Anne’s County. Retiring this month after 30 years with University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), including 20 as nurse manager at University of Maryland Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown, Vanhoy leaves a strong legacy of nursing leadership and innovation, quality patient care and community service.
More than a decade ago, Vanhoy played a major role in UM Shore Regional Health’s initiative to establish the first-ever freestanding medical facility (FMF) in Maryland. Opened in 2010, UM Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown served as the pilot model for the establishment of FMFs in Maryland and other states. The facility now serves more than 18,000 patients every year and is joined by a second FMF, located in Cambridge, within the UM SRH network of outpatient facilities.
“In her 30 years with us, Mary Alice never said no, she was always the first to raise her hand when we came up with an ask – and it was always a big ask – to take on broader role,” said Ken Kozel, UM SRH President and CEO, at a gathering in Vanhoy’s honor (shown at right). “When we asked her take on managing our Chestertown Emergency Department in addition to Queenstown, she said yes. Then we asked her to oversee all four of our emergency departments, and again she said yes. While these added responsibilities were supposed to be short-lived, Mary Alice maintained a heavy schedule for months at a time until we could refill vacant positions.”
Vanhoy was a strong advocate for the Emergency Center as well as its nurse manager. She played an active role in the organization of galas, receptions and more recently, the annual “Claws for a Cause” crab feast, through which community members raised well over $1 million dollars, first for the Center’s construction, and more recently, to help fund the purchase of equipment, technology and other important emergency care needs. She also made sure that the Center and its staff member participated in local community events, such as the annual Bay Bridge Run, for which the team provided on-site emergency care as needed.
Under Vanhoy’s leadership, Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown recently received the 2024 Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award. This award honors organizations that have reached the 95th percentile for positive patient experience, employee or physician engagement, or clinical quality performance based on the past one year of data.
Never one to take too much credit, Vanhoy is quick to say that this achievement reflects the exceptional caliber of the Center’s entire team. “It’s everybody – the doctors, nurses and techs, for sure, but also the folks in Security, Facilities Maintenance, IT and Housekeeping,” she said. “Just as important are our community partners, like Queen Anne’s County Emergency Services and local/ state law enforcement. This team is so solid and so dedicated in the care they provide, that’s what earned us the recognition from Press Ganey as well as the loyalty and appreciation of our patients, their families and the communities serve.”
Vanhoy’s leadership is widely recognized outside UM SRH. In 2004, she was selected by Maryland’s then-Governor Robert Ehrlich to represent emergency nursing on the Maryland Emergency Medical Services Board and has continued to serve in that capacity. In 2014, she became the first Maryland nurse to be elected Fellow of the Academy of Emergency Nursing (AEN), an international organization established to honor emergency nurses who make enduring, substantial contributions to emergency nursing, advance the profession of emergency nursing and provide visionary leadership. She was elected to the Board of AEN earlier this year. In 2018, Vanhoy was named Emergency Nurse of the Year by the Maryland Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). This state-wide honor recognized Vanhoy as a “leader who serves to motivate, inspire and challenge her team while promoting others to maximize their strengths and look at weaknesses as opportunities to grow.”
Vanhoy and her husband, Jeff, are returning to her hometown, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to be close to family and friends. She will remain active as a board member of AEN and will provide consulting services to UM Shore Regional Health on an as-needed basis, and looks forward to taking on some nursing education assignments with a local hospital on a part-time basis. “I’ve always enjoyed teaching and mentoring, helping nurses advance their skills and move forward in their careers,” she said.