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Hospice care providers in Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties are collaborating to expand and enhance hospice services for patients and their families. After several years of community needs review and discussion, University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, Caroline Hospice Foundation, Hospice of Queen Anne’s and Talbot Hospice Foundation have agreed to transition hospice care to a community based model. Community based hospice means that patients with life-limiting illnesses are cared for by specialists whose sole focus is hospice care and grief support. According to the new plan, hospice and grief support services that have been provided by University of Maryland Shore Regional Health home care and hospice affiliates will be provided by Hospice of Queen Anne’s and Talbot Hospice Foundation. Hospice of Queen Anne’s will continue to provide hospice services in Queen Anne’s County and will expand services to Kent and Caroline Counties. Talbot Hospice Foundation will provide services in Talbot County. Hospice of Queen Anne’s, Caroline Hospice Foundation and Talbot Hospice Foundation are non-profit organizations that rely on the community for financial support. These non-profits depend on charitable gifts to cover the gap between the cost of providing hospice services and reimbursement received from Medicare, Medicaid, insurance and private payments. Under the community-based model, all funds raised within a county will continue to support hospice services for patients and their families within that county. Hospice of Queen Anne’s, which will continue fundraising for services provided in Queen Anne’s County, will begin to raise funds that will be used to provide hospice care in Kent County. HQA will also use funds raised to date by University of Maryland Chester River Health Foundation for hospice care for Kent County residents. The Caroline Hospice Foundation will continue to sponsor fundraisers with the goal of re-opening Caroline Hospice House in Denton for patient care and to help offset the expense of providing hospice care to Caroline County residents. Talbot Hospice Foundation will continue its fundraising efforts to support citizens in Talbot County. Hospice of Queen Anne’s has a six-bed residential Hospice Center in Centreville. This facility is also a free-standing licensed general inpatient hospice care unit where patients can receive around the clock nursing care. Hospice of Queen Anne’s will work with Caroline Hospice Foundation to develop a plan for re-opening the three-bed residential hospice center in Denton. This plan depends on Caroline Hospice Foundation’s ability to obtain funding that is required to upgrade and operate the facility according to the latest patient care standards set by the State of Maryland. A key priority for the community based hospice providers for Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties is to help physicians get the information they need about hospice so that they can meet the needs of patients and their families. An interdisciplinary team works together so that when the time comes, patients and families have access to hospice experts, including nurses, nursing assistants, social workers, grief and spiritual counselors, financial advisors, and volunteers, who step in to provide care that meets the needs of each family. For more information about this transition to community based hospice, contact Linda Mastro, Director of Marketing and Communications, Hospice of Queen Anne’s at 443-262-4117, lmastro@hospiceofqueenannes.org |
