St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission Presented with Innovation Award – Southern Maryland News Net | Southern Maryland News Net
The first of its kind in Maryland, the St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission, St. Mary’s County Health Department and the St. Mary’s College of Maryland partnered on an innovative pilot project to comprehensively monitor the presence of COVID-19 in local wastewater.
It began with an idea and a conference call back on April 27, 2020, followed by the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding on May 11, 2020.
The idea was for the Metropolitan Commission to provide St. Mary’s County Health Officer, Dr. Meenakshi Brewster, with early detection of the presence and surges in the virus before an outbreak, especially in specific geographical areas. Dr. Brewster would then have the data needed to help make informed, science-based decisions on intervention and recovery.
On April 7, 2022, while attending the COVID Partners Forum dinner at the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department, staff from the Metropolitan Commission accepted the 2022 Innovation Award for their development and implementation behind the wastewater surveillance program in St. Mary’s County.
George Erichsen, MetCom’s Executive Director stated that, “the Commission was proud to work alongside the Health Department and all the other organizations who rose to the challenge in providing essential public health services to the community during the pandemic.”
To see more about the reporting of COVID-19 in wastewater and for current data, visit the Health Department website at COVID-19 Virus in Wastewater – St. Mary’s County Health Department (smchd.org)