Maryland Rural Health Association Press Release: Bob Stephens Receives Outstanding Rural Health Achievement Award

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At our Annual Conference in Ocean City, MD, Bob Stephens Garrett County Health Officer receives our annual Outstanding Rural Health Achievement Award.

Executive Director Jonathan Dayton says, “Bob is an asset to Garrett County and Western Maryland and exhibits everything we look at when choosing an awardee. Bob has dedicated his life to improving the lives of the community, and for that and many other reasons, we honor him.”

Bob Stephens has served as the Garrett County Health Officer since July 2017. In addition to directing all activities of the Garrett County Health Department, Bob provides statewide leadership for public health programs across Maryland and is a graduate of the DHMH Leadership Institute and the Johns Hopkins Mid-Atlantic Health Leadership Institute. He served on MRHA’s Executive Committee and is a past Secretary of the MRHA Board of Directors.

Bob was instrumental in founding Mountain Laurel Medical Center and in securing its designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center. Mountain Laurel now provides vital patient-centered primary care, behavioral health, and pharmacy services for rural residents in Garrett and Allegany Counties and in West Virginia, including a mobile wellness van.

Bob is actively engaged in Garrett County and Maryland’s public health community through leadership roles in the Garrett County Health Planning Council, STEPS for Better Health, the Maryland Rural Health Association, various Maryland Department of Health workgroups, and the Maryland Association of County Health Officers (MACHO), of which he was elected president in March 2023. While he began his career in the social services field, he has held various leadership positions at the Garrett County Health Department for the past 23 years.

Bob is active in Rotary International, where he is a Paul Harris Fellow and is past president of the Rotary’s Oakland, Maryland Club. He is an Eagle Scout and served as a Cubmaster and Scoutmaster in Garrett County. Bob earned his undergraduate degree at West Virginia Wesleyan College and his master’s at Frostburg State University. His background is in Behavioral Health Services and Counseling for adults and at-risk youths.

Bob Stephens says, “I am humbled to receive this award. The Maryland Rural Health Association has so many dedicated members who work hard every day to improve the health of rural Marylanders that it is truly an honor to be recognized with the award. I am accepting it on behalf of the dedicated staff at the Garrett County Health Department as well as my colleagues around the State who are a constant source of encouragement and inspiration.”

Photo and release from the Maryland Rural Health Association.