BERLIN– Following years of preparation and fundraising, Coastal Hospice is moving forward on plans to open a new care facility in Worcester County.
Serving Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset and Dorchester counties, the 501(c)3 nonprofit provides in-home hospice and palliative care for patients who have a prognosis of six months or less.
“If you haven’t experienced the care that hospice gives it’s hard to understand what it is,” said Community Relations Manager Elaine Bean. “A lot of people hear ‘hospice’ and they get scared immediately – they think it means imminent death. But that’s not always the case.”
A personal experience with her mother helped Bean realize the benefits of hospice.
“They came into my home – my mother was living with me – and cared for her and made her last days comfortable,” she said. “They told us what to expect. I didn’t have any experience with anyone passing – I didn’t know what to do. It was just an amazing group of people who came in and offered assistance.”
Bean said often, because curative treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can be hard on the body, patients who end curative treatments and receive hospice care are actually able to live longer.
“Recently, a man in Ocean City was on hospice care for 18 months,” she said. “We’ve had other patients longer. Even with a prognosis of six months of less that’s not actually the period of time that we care for people.”
Although their short-term inpatient care facility — Coastal Hospice at the Lake — is located in Salisbury, Coastal Hospice has a staffed office of care experts on Racetrack Road in Berlin.
“Worcester County is a big part of our service area,” said Bean. “Our team of nurses, social workers, aids, chaplains and physicians go into patient’s homes throughout the county and care for them. Most people want to be in their own homes when they’re ill. Since medicine took a leap forward after World War II a lot of people have ended up in hospitals during their last moments, and that’s a very sterile environment. Being at home surrounded by people who love you and your own things is a very peaceful and comforting way to pass.”
The new facility, Coastal Hospice at the Ocean, will be located on Broad Street near the senior living community.
“We have a piece of land right behind the cottages, and now we’re in the process of raising enough money to construct the facility,” Bean said. No completion date was set.
Walter “Macky” Stansell and his wife provided the majority of the funds used to purchase the property.
“He’s on our board of directors and has been a supreme supporter of hospice for many years,” Bean said.
Three years ago Coastal Hospice opened a thrift shop on Old Ocean City Boulevard in Berlin to support Coastal Hospice at the Ocean, selling clothing and accessories for men, women and children as well as collectibles, books, housewares, linens and small wooden furniture. The store contributes a set amount each year towards the capital campaign to build the new facility, with additional revenue going into a sustaining fund in order to operate Coastal Hospice at the Ocean after it opens.
“Our Thrift Shop is unique because all clothing is hand picked, individually inspected and cleaned and pressed before it is put out for sale where it is displayed by size,” said Bean. “The shop also has large dressing rooms and accepts credit cards.”
Bean said Coastal Hospice at the Ocean would include a hospice residence for people who do not have care at home or who need short-term care.
“If a patient is under so much pain or anxiety that they cannot be cared for at home then they can come here until it’s corrected,” she said. “We will also offer respite care. If a caregiver is just physically or emotionally tired and needs a break the patient can come into our inpatient facility and we’ll take of them.”
Other amenities at the new facility include a garden, a kitchen, a family room and a community outreach center.
“That’s very important,” Bean said. “We will offer bereavement counseling and all sorts of community activities and information seminars on topics like advance directives. It’s going to be a really wonderful facility.”
Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance generally cover the costs of hospice care, although Bean noted that Coastal Hospice never turns away a client because of their inability to pay.
Coastal Hospice receives support through private donations and fundraisers. In 2014, the Worcester County Commissioners provided the nonprofit with a $10,000 grant for the first time.
Macky’s Bayside Bar and Grill on 5311 Coastal Highway in Ocean City will host the 7th Annual Blues on the Bay to benefit Coastal Hospice at the Ocean on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $75. Last year the event raised more than $65,000.
For more information call 410-742-8732 or visit www.coastalhospice.org.
Serving Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset and Dorchester counties, the 501(c)3 nonprofit provides in-home hospice and palliative care for patients who have a prognosis of six months or less.
“If you haven’t experienced the care that hospice gives it’s hard to understand what it is,” said Community Relations Manager Elaine Bean. “A lot of people hear ‘hospice’ and they get scared immediately – they think it means imminent death. But that’s not always the case.”
A personal experience with her mother helped Bean realize the benefits of hospice.
“They came into my home – my mother was living with me – and cared for her and made her last days comfortable,” she said. “They told us what to expect. I didn’t have any experience with anyone passing – I didn’t know what to do. It was just an amazing group of people who came in and offered assistance.”
Bean said often, because curative treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can be hard on the body, patients who end curative treatments and receive hospice care are actually able to live longer.
“Recently, a man in Ocean City was on hospice care for 18 months,” she said. “We’ve had other patients longer. Even with a prognosis of six months of less that’s not actually the period of time that we care for people.”
Although their short-term inpatient care facility — Coastal Hospice at the Lake — is located in Salisbury, Coastal Hospice has a staffed office of care experts on Racetrack Road in Berlin.
“Worcester County is a big part of our service area,” said Bean. “Our team of nurses, social workers, aids, chaplains and physicians go into patient’s homes throughout the county and care for them. Most people want to be in their own homes when they’re ill. Since medicine took a leap forward after World War II a lot of people have ended up in hospitals during their last moments, and that’s a very sterile environment. Being at home surrounded by people who love you and your own things is a very peaceful and comforting way to pass.”
The new facility, Coastal Hospice at the Ocean, will be located on Broad Street near the senior living community.
“We have a piece of land right behind the cottages, and now we’re in the process of raising enough money to construct the facility,” Bean said. No completion date was set.
Walter “Macky” Stansell and his wife provided the majority of the funds used to purchase the property.
“He’s on our board of directors and has been a supreme supporter of hospice for many years,” Bean said.
Three years ago Coastal Hospice opened a thrift shop on Old Ocean City Boulevard in Berlin to support Coastal Hospice at the Ocean, selling clothing and accessories for men, women and children as well as collectibles, books, housewares, linens and small wooden furniture. The store contributes a set amount each year towards the capital campaign to build the new facility, with additional revenue going into a sustaining fund in order to operate Coastal Hospice at the Ocean after it opens.
“Our Thrift Shop is unique because all clothing is hand picked, individually inspected and cleaned and pressed before it is put out for sale where it is displayed by size,” said Bean. “The shop also has large dressing rooms and accepts credit cards.”
Bean said Coastal Hospice at the Ocean would include a hospice residence for people who do not have care at home or who need short-term care.
“If a patient is under so much pain or anxiety that they cannot be cared for at home then they can come here until it’s corrected,” she said. “We will also offer respite care. If a caregiver is just physically or emotionally tired and needs a break the patient can come into our inpatient facility and we’ll take of them.”
Other amenities at the new facility include a garden, a kitchen, a family room and a community outreach center.
“That’s very important,” Bean said. “We will offer bereavement counseling and all sorts of community activities and information seminars on topics like advance directives. It’s going to be a really wonderful facility.”
Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance generally cover the costs of hospice care, although Bean noted that Coastal Hospice never turns away a client because of their inability to pay.
Coastal Hospice receives support through private donations and fundraisers. In 2014, the Worcester County Commissioners provided the nonprofit with a $10,000 grant for the first time.
Macky’s Bayside Bar and Grill on 5311 Coastal Highway in Ocean City will host the 7th Annual Blues on the Bay to benefit Coastal Hospice at the Ocean on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $75. Last year the event raised more than $65,000.
For more information call 410-742-8732 or visit www.coastalhospice.org.