FEDERALSBURG, Md. — TidalHealth Primary Care in Federalsburg will close Nov. 15, leaving many neighbors to travel out of town for care.
Although the practice is currently part of the TidalHealth network, patients say it opened as a private practice in 1995.
Trish Todd has been a patient at the office since shortly after it opened. She said her mother and her daughter were patients there too. Todd said the closure worsens a lack of health care options in town.
“Federalsburg, that whole area is kind of a medical desert,” Todd said. “Because any type of care that you need, you have to go elsewhere for, if you're going to get a bloodwork, you have lab work, X-rays, MRI's, anything that's a specialty practice. You can't get it in Federalsburg and sadly, now a physician's office is leaving.So you only have one choice in town if you stay.”
TidalHealth did not specify a reason for the closure in a statement to WBOC. The statement said the health system is working to move patients to other practices within their network.
In a statement to WBOC, TidalHealth said:
“After careful consideration, TidalHealth Primary Care in Federalsburg will close effective Nov. 15, 2026. As part of this transition, patients are being connected with TidalHealth Primary Care offices in Bridgeville, Seaford, Delmar and Georgetown, where they can continue receiving care through TidalHealth's network of primary care practitioners.
TidalHealth is committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for our patients. We are proactively assisting patients with establishing care at another TidalHealth practice to help ensure continuity of care and ongoing access to high-quality healthcare services.
Supporting the health and well-being of the communities we serve remains a priority for TidalHealth. While this location is closing, our commitment to the residents of Federalsburg and the surrounding communities remains unchanged."
Steve Melvin, another patient, has been with the office since they opened.
“A doctor, especially a doctor's office that's been a part of the community for so long, it's really, it's really a loss because, again, you get a trusted physician in the area, and they really become a part of the community. And, and it's something you come to depend on,” Melvin said.
He said he worries about some low-income patients on Medicaid who will have to find a new doctor.
“For the people in Federalsburg it's, it's going to be a real problem because, you know, a lot of people, you know, if they're poor and they're on Medicaid, they probably can't go to Seaford, which is Delaware,” Melvin said.
Melvin said transportation is also a major barrier in the Federalsburg area. Some patients, he said, get to appointments in wheelchairs or motorized scooters rather than in cars.
