Expert Care,
Close to Home.

Dedicated to improving the health of our community.

Ready to schedule an appointment?

Our experts are ready to support your health needs. Meritus Health offers our patients the option of virtual or in-person appointments at one of our convenient locations. We promise to treat our patients with respect and provide professional, compassionate care.

Virtual Visit

In-Person Visit

WHAT WE OFFER

Featured Services

Featured Services List

Pick from the list

MERITUS STORIES

Special Olympian returns to Meritus

Candi Blessing, who works in the Nutrition Services Department, nabbed three medals at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy After winning three medals at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy, Candi Blessing returned to her job at Meritus Medical Center with her hardware. The 39-year-old Smithsburg, Md., resident won silver medals in the 200 meters and relay snowshoeing events, and a gold medal in the 100 meters. “So happy,” she said, describing how she felt standing atop the podium with her first-place win. Candi made the trip with some help from her co-workers. The Meritus Health Foundation held a raffle fundraiser, with more than $2,300 going toward her expenses. She has worked at Meritus for 11 years in nutrition services, but she has been competing in Special Olympics for more than 30 years. Aside from snowshoeing, her sports include athletics, basketball and floor hockey. She competed in the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games in athletics in New Jersey. As for her time in Italy before the games, much of it was spent training, she said. But she and the other athletes representing Team USA did get to do a little sight-seeing, including the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, home of the Shroud of Turin. But you can’t tour and train on an empty stomach. Candi said she enjoyed the meals in Turin, which included pasta, rice and pizza. She participated in three races over several days during the games, which ran from March 8 to 15. Her first race was the 200 meters. “I can do it,” she said she was thinking to herself as she ran in her snowshoes against eight other competitors. It was a little different than what she’s used to. Normally, she trains at Whitetail Resort near Mercersburg, Pa. “There was more snow” in Italy, she said, which made it tougher to run. While she was competing, her friends and co-workers back home were keeping up to date. Erin Warner, Candi’s program specialist with the Arc of Washington County, said she was texting Chef Joe Fleischman, head of Meritus’ Nutrition Services Department — and Candi’s boss. For his part, Chef Joe would share the news with the staff. Meanwhile, graphics on Meritus Health’s electronic billboard on Robinwood Drive congratulated Candi and noted her medal haul. Her co-workers were excited to see her when she started back to work this week. “They were so happy,” she said.

NEWS & UPDATES

Meritus Today

Meritus earns top honors in 2025 Best of the Tristate awards

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Meritus Health is proud to announce its practices and providers came in first place in numerous categories for the Verstandig Media’s Best of the Tristate 2025 awards. Meritus Medical Center was named Best Hospital in the annual voting competition, which is highly regarded throughout Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It’s the fifth year in a row the hospital has earned the title. In addition to the hospital, Meritus physicians and practices were also winners for the following categories: • Best Plastic Surgeon: Salvatore DiMercurio, M.D.• Best Cardiology Office: Meritus Hagerstown Heart• Best Urgent Care: Meritus Urgent Care The health system’s providers and practices were named finalists for Best Cardiologist, Best General Surgeon, Best Physical Therapist, Best Nurse, Best Outpatient Surgery Center, Best Physical Rehabilitation Center, Best Physical Therapy and best Orthopedic Clinic. Also, Brook Lane Health Services, an affiliate of Meritus Health, was a finalist for Best Mental Health Services. “We are proud to receive these awards and finalist nominations because the votes come from our community and team members,” said Maulik Joshi, Dr.P.H., Meritus president and CEO. “Our mission is to improve the health of the community, and we continue to grow to meet that challenge by bringing expert care close to home.” To meet the growing need for mental health services, the health system worked with Brook Lane in 2023 to open the Meritus Mental Health Walk-in facility. Located at the Orange Entrance to the Robinwood Professional Center, the office is there for anyone age 6 and older who needs a mental healthcare provider. The health system, Washington County’s only integrated health system and one of the region’s largest employers, is also in the process of raising its minimum wage to $20 per hour by 2027. So far, pay has been increased to at least $18 per hour for all employees. “Every day, we put the patient at the center of all we do,” Joshi said. “It is gratifying to know that the tristate community recognizes our effort, and they should know that we will continue doing it.” ### Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.

CHECK OUT OUR

Upcoming Events

Meritus Psychiatry Residency Program matches with five new doctors

New program joins Meritus Family Medicine Residency Program HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Meritus Health’s new Psychiatry Residency Program has matched with its first class of five doctors. They’ll be joining the six doctors who matched with the existing Meritus Family Medicine Residency program. “We are excited to welcome our first class of Psychiatry residents,” said Heather Theibert, D.O., program director for the Meritus Psychiatry Residency. “There is an obvious need for mental health professionals in this region and nationally. We are proud to be educating the next generation of psychiatrists to help meet this need with a focus on training psychiatrists who will stay and serve the Washington County area.” Each year, on the heels of graduation, medical students nationwide eagerly await announcement for where they “matched,” meaning where they will spend their next several years in residency. Residency programs serve as structured apprenticeships leading to board certification in a particular specialty. A resident is a physician who is enrolled in this apprenticeship or residency and is overseen by board-certified faculty physicians. The highly selective process results in five medical school graduates being matched with the psychiatry program at Meritus, along with six being matched with the family medicine program. The psychiatry residency is a four-year program for a total of 20 residents once the program is filled out. The family medicine program is a three-year program for a total of 18 residents. “It is a joy to welcome another class of promising doctors into the Meritus Family Medicine Residency Program,” said Stacy Ross, M.D., program director. “The highly skilled faculty physicians and colleagues here are eager to help guide them over the next three years. And these physicians will be working in our family medicine practice, meaning patients get to participate in their educational journey, too.” The Meritus Psychiatry Residency Program of class of 2029 includes graduates from Maryland, Florida and Iowa: · Crist Cuffee, D.O., Ankeny, Iowa; Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine · Claudia Jensen, D.O., Tampa, Fla.; Liberty College of Osteopathic Medicine · Ramya Kolagani, M.D., Ellicott City, Md.; Penn State University College of Medicine · Judy Lau, M.D., Germantown, Md.; Saint Louis University School of Medicine · Oluwaseun Oyewo, M.D., Silver Spring, Md.; University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts The Meritus Family Medicine Residency Program class of 2028 includes graduates from Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Nigeria: · Eyimofe Fakoyede, M.D., Lagos, Nigeria; Medical University of Plovdiv Faculty of Medicine · Luke Horning, D.O., McLean, Va.; West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine · Madeleine Miller, D.O., Cleveland, Ohio; Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine · Sofia Paniagua, D.O., Gaithersburg, Md.; New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine · Idongesit Usoroh, M.D., Eket, Nigeria; All Saints University School of Medicine, Dominica · Doopashika Welikala, D.O., Gaithersburg, Md.; Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine Meritus Health plans to launch more residency programs in the coming years as it prepares to welcome the inaugural class of students to the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine this summer. The school, the first to open in Maryland in more than 100 years, is meant to help close the gap in the number of physician openings regionally and nationwide. To learn more about the Psychiatry and Family Medicine residency programs, visit www.meritushealth.com/residency. To learn more about the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine, visit msom.org. ### Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.

New Meritus plastic surgeon helps cancer patients ‘pick up the pieces’

Dr. Eric Maiorino now seeing patients in Hagerstown HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Breast cancer is a traumatic experience for patients, often leaving them questioning who they are because of scars after treatment. Eric Maiorino, M.D., the new surgeon at Meritus Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery, said he’s there to help those patients get back some semblance of their identity. “It’s a difficult time for patients. They’re always very afraid of looking deformed or not themselves,” Maiorino said. “My goal is to help them be able to pick up the pieces.” Maiorino grew up in Queens, N.Y., about 15 blocks away from where his practice partner, Salvatore DiMercurio, M.D., grew up. They even went to the same elementary and middle schools, albeit years apart. After earning his medical degree in 2012 from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Maiorino did his residency in general surgery at Temple University Hospital, which, among other things, focused on underserved populations. In 2018, Maiorino began a plastic surgery fellowship at the University of Texas in Houston at Hermann Memorial Hospital. “It was my first rodeo,” he joked, saying he’d never been to a rodeo before living in Texas. He also trained at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, part of the University of Texas. There he focused on reconstructive surgery for people dealing with a variety of cancers. “Plastic surgery is so broad,” he said, noting he gets to work with physicians in everything from cardiology to gastroenterology. “When you think of it, you think it’s just face lifts and breast enhancements. Plastic surgery touches so much more than that.” Eventually, Maiorino moved back to the East Coast and set up a practice in Washington, D.C. He was voted Top Doc the past three years by Washingtonian magazine. He became aware of Meritus Health thanks to its commitment to expanding medical education and training the next generation of doctors. The health system has residency programs in family medicine and psychiatry and is planning to add surgery in the near future. It also is set to open the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine, the first medical school to open in Maryland in 100 years, this summer. “I was a high school science teacher before I went to medical school, so this interested me,” he said. At Meritus Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery, Maiorino said he hopes to expand services for breast cancer patients, allowing them to avoid traveling out of the area. And he is looking forward to helping grow Meritus’ educational offerings. “I’m excited to help in making this more of an academic center,” he said. To learn more about Meritus Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery or to make an appointment, visit www.meritushealth.com/plastics or call 301-714-4460 in Hagerstown or 717-261-1620 in Chambersburg. ### Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.

PROMOTING A