OCEAN PINES — Mariners’ Country Down carries with it a bit of local legend and a significant amount of local history. And this summer it will be one of the places from which the produce comes for the Ocean Pines Farmers Market, which opens next weekend in White Horse Park.

Christine McDowell, who will be the market manager, is also proprietor of The Good Farm, a local CSA and organic produce concern. As her reach in the community grew, she sought out more land on which to raise the vegetables and livestock that her regular customers have come to expect.

It was almost by chance that she crossed paths with the people who own Mariners’ Country Down and was allowed by them to begin using some of their land.

Mariners’ Country Down used to be a major craft village but now acts as the family homestead. The family members, though, wanted to put the fecund land to use and McDowell wanted land to use. It was a perfect fit.

With the help of Ric Gresia running the operations on the various properties they farm, McDowell was able to assist in setting up the Farmers Market in Ocean Pines, something she felt would significantly benefit the community.

Gresia, who lives in Ocean City became so fascinated by permaculture he took it up as a course of study and is now an avid participant.

“Ocean Pines residents have a real appreciation not only for organic foods but also for niche produce,” McDowell said. “As more producers come on board we hope to be able to give them they kind of access to these foods they deserve.”

Venders’ products will include fresh produce, cut flowers, vegetable plants, herbs, baked goods, Maryland blue crabs, cut flowers and a variety of organic items. OPA hopes to add specialty vendors whose merchandise includes products such as honey, jellies and jams, pet treats, meats, peaches, butter, cheese, ice cream, berries, milk and yogurt.

Participating farmers include Dale Hastings of Berlin, Kevin Riser of Berlin, and Bob Harrison who is popularly known as the Eggman from Whaleyville.

Of special interest will be the milk which, once it becomes available, will come from the last dairy farm in Worcester County. Although in the past Chesapeake Bay Farms has been known mostly for ice cream, this year they are expanding into the milk market and expect to also sell cheese produced in Berlin by the end of the summer.

McDowell said that among her top priorities as manager will be to keep the food as local as possible, so produce from farms will be especially preferred.

According to a statement by the OPA, they hope “the market will give the residents of Ocean Pines the opportunity to stock their fridge with fresh, high quality local food and farm products; without venturing across or onto Route 589 into summer time traffic.”

Additionally, the OPA will grow the market slowly, relying on a small number of reliable vendors. For this year the maximum number of full-season vendors is limited to a dozen, but they will reserve space for up to four “drop in vendors who might be interested in participating but unable, for one reason or another, to commit to a full season.”

McDowell said they are still accepting full season vendors, though, and are especially interested in specialty growers. For information about vending information call McDowell at 410-713-8803. For more information about the Ocean Pines Farmers Market call Teresa Travatello at 410-641-7717 ext. 3006

BERLIN — There are two essential parts to rehabilitation: having the initial therapy and strengthening the afflicted area to prevent relapse and improve overall health. The difficulty for many patients is that after insurance pays for the therapy, the insured is often left to their own devices for the continued, if necessary work.

The disconnect between therapies covered by insurance and the real healing work that ought to continue afterwards never made a lot of sense to Bobby Hammond, who owns Atlantic Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine in the Pines Plaza. But as the owner of Atlantic Health and Fitness, the gym adjoining the therapy office, he was in a unique position to do something about it.

He began adding an additional month of access to the gym at no extra charge once patients finished their therapeutic course. As a result, not only have patients' physical therapy improvements been longer-lasting and more stable, but many have elected to stay on beyond the month to continue improving their health.

“I thought it was a brilliant idea to offer it to our patients,” Hammond said. “They still have the staff here if they have any questions.”

The patient experience is unique at Atlantic Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine because the therapists are able to look beyond the initial recovery and into their patients’ future needs. The professional staff on both sides of the wall — the therapy facility and the gym — are able to do the kinds of treatments with patients that just aren’t possible in a stand-alone therapy facility.

Therapist Charles Curran, PT, explained that he can develop a regimen based on improving a patient's long-term recovery and then have the advantage of being able to see it though as the patient returns for their workouts once their insurance-covered therapy runs out.

As an example he demonstrated a resistance band exercise common to people recovering from joint injuries or replacements. Curran then walked over to the gym side and demonstrated how the exercise could be repeated on the “Functional Trainer” a weight machine with an open plan.

Curran said the machine was designed so that virtually any regimen could be accommodated by it. 

“I know this machine can be set to do well over 100 different exercises,” he said. “I can figure out what’s best in relation to the injury.”

Curran and the rest of the staff work closely with area doctors so they know which doctors prefer which courses of treatments then tailor the follow-up exercise program.

“Certain injuries have certain protocols for what you have to follow,” he said.

Curran works closely with one of the company’s newest employees, Michael Hedlesky, MS, CSCS, USAW, WBB, a strength performance expert, to find the best course of transition for patients as they go from the therapy office to the gym.

As the patients get stronger they are encouraged to begin working out in the gym. Once their therapy is over, they are already comfortable with the regimen, the facility and the personnel. Since the free month in the gym isn’t covered by insurance there is no deductible either. It is just an ounce of prevention that Hammond feels better benefits the patients.

“You still have the staff here if you have questions” Hammond said of the patients in transition. “The insurance companies love me but I don’t do it for them, I do it for the patients.”

While the program is specific to the office, it is not the only thing that sets Atlantic Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine and the Atlantic Health and Fitness Center apart. 

Sally Hawkins, OTR/L,CLT is one of about 5,000 people in the world certified as a hand-specialist for physical therapy. Only about half of the people who attempt to attain the certification pass the test but those who do have a particular insight into helping people deal with the debilitating implications of arthritis or learning to adjust after a stroke.

“It’s about improving range of motion,” she said. “But it’s also about new tactics for energy conservation.”

As an example, she said that a person who has strength issues in their hands might consider sliding a pot along the counter rather than picking it up and taking it across the kitchen. The point of the therapy is for patients to learn to make their own accommodations in order that their recovery is more complete and their lives aren’t too drastically altered during their readjustment period.

Another of the tactics and therapies that sets Atlantic Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine apart is their endless lap pool. For the uninitiated, an endless lap pool is like a treadmill for swimmers. A fabricated current can be turned up or down to allow a person as much or little resistance as needed.

While the pool is an excellent way to do laps in an small space, the pool’s primary use is for physical therapy. Hammond said that it is as effective for people learning to restore their balance as well as for those in injury or surgery recovery.

“It’s much easier for patients to do the exercises in the pool,” Hammond said. 

Atlantic Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine has a strict policy that only one therapy session can take place in the pool at a time so to assure that each patient gets the maximum benefit and attention.

To find out more about Atlantic Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine’s free month plan or about Atlantic Health and Fitness general memberships visit http://www.atlanticptrehab.com/berlin.

 

SNOW HILL — The success of The Palette, the restaurant owned and run by Phil Cropper over the last three years, has been primarily the result of commitment to local, quality food. Because it is centrally located, the Green Street restaurant has established a reputation with diners in every direction, drawing people from Salisbury as well as the greater Berlin area and Pocomoke.

When he opens The Palette Pantry this week as part of the monthly Snow Hill First Friday event, Cropper will deepen the town’s retail appeal by complementing without competing with the other area area shops.

Although the town has no shortage of restaurants each has its own niche, and Cropper expects to capitalize on his niche by providing what might be best called a take-out DIY experience.

The hard work that was so critical to the restaurant’s success had to do with Cropper's commitment to making as much as was reasonable from scratch using local sources. The result was distinctive spice blends, salad dressings and rubs that defined The Palette food. The Palette Pantry will be an extension of that, offering people who enjoy their meals at the restaurant to bring some aspects of it home for later use.

“It gives us an outlet to get our products out,” Cropper said.

Moreover, it gives him an opportunity to help promote Snow Hill as a culinary destination and, with any luck, help drive traffic and revitalization to the Downtown area.

The idea for a gourmet shop was born of the small number of active storefronts along Green Street. Cropper has had the shop as the restaurant’s office and pantry since it opened. Recently he decided that making The Palette pantry, The Palette Pantry was really just a question of organizing some of his stock more efficiently and adding other items to make the shop more appealing.

His first concern was not to compete with other gift shops and businesses in the area. Ann Coates, who owns Bishop Stock Art Gallery, already provides quality beer and wine as well as some other gourmet items and there are gift shops around town that have much of the gift market covered. From Cropper’s perspective there was no point in duplicating effort, especially given that the idea is to eventually broaden the notion of what is available in Snow Hill.

Tied to that are the tags he’s designed to attach to each of the items for sale — “Gifts from the Kitchen, Historic Snow Hill Maryland” — that are part of branding The Palette Pantry as much as the town.

Cropper has been approached increasingly over the last few weeks as he prepared to open by people wondering if the new place will have a deli or be an alternate food destination. Although he will have pre-packaged ice cream and cheeses from Chesapeake By Farms, there will be nothing representing an additional food store. He doesn’t want to be a grocer, just a purveyor of high-end items that compliment other food.

“We decided to focus more on the gourmet line,” Cropper said.

To that end, he carries some glassware and service sets and expects to deepen that, but the better part of the shop for now focusses on the stock of his own creation. He joked that even though he wasn’t open yet he’s been have trouble keeping his infused olive oil on the shelves. When people hear that the items used to prepare their meal are available for sale, they tended to not want to wait until this weekend’s opening.

As the fall approaches, Cropper said they will begin carrying jams made from local sourced fruits. Local sourcing will remain as important to The Palette Pantry as it has been to The Palette restaurant.

Cropper combated his desire to be able to offer jams as part of his opening stock with his desire to source the ingredients locally. In the end he decided it wasn’t worth it to have fruits shipped in for the project.

In their stead, local slow perishables will be available from the pantry. Items like potatoes, onions and tomatoes that have a long shelf life will be available based on restaurant demand. Cropper envisions a chalkboard telling customers which organic local produce is available each day.

As he was putting together the items he would sell in The Palette Pantry making sure people could buy the tea blend he uses for his iced tea was a no-brainer. As with the rest of The Palette’s menu items, it draws inquires regularly. It’s odd for the iced tea to stand out in a meal so when it does it is something people want to be able to reproduce at home.

For more information about The Palette Pantry including hours and contact information visit their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-palette-Pantry.