Until summer 2028, the hospital that serves Talbot County is still the one already standing in Easton.

The $664 million UM Shore Regional Medical Center on Longwoods Road broke ground in October 2024. Occupancy is slated for summer 2028 — roughly two summers from the date of this sheet. Until then, inpatient care, the emergency room, and the specialists who did not leave for the Western Shore remain at the existing UM Shore Medical Center at Easton.

The cost figure itself climbed about $125 million above the $539.6 million the state approved in 2024. That overrun, and the construction clock on Longwoods, are separate files. This one is for patients: anyone managing a chronic condition, a high-risk pregnancy, or an aging parent who cannot ride to Baltimore.

The health system describes the new campus as a model for rural care. Rural care in the meantime still means ambulance minutes, specialist wait lists, and the Health Department's own warning about shortages. Keep using the hospital you have. Know the Longwoods timeline. Do not confuse a rendering with an open ward.

Ask your doctor where your procedure will actually be done in 2026 and 2027. The answer is still Easton proper, not the field off Longwoods. This is a dated health sheet, not a diagnosis.