The City of Cambridge, Dorchester County and the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health took an important step forward in future plans for new state-of-the-art health care facilities and services in the county and a milestone in development of the Cambridge waterfront as a community asset and economic development engine.

L-R: Dorchester County Council President Ricky Travers, Dorchester County Council member Don Satterfield, Cambridge Mayor Victoria Jackson-Stanley, and Ken Kozel, President and CEO of UM SRH.

On June 8, Mayor Victoria Jackson- Stanley, Council President Ricky Travers, and UM SRH CEO Ken Kozel signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) which, along with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed last month by the City and County creating a waterfront development entity, will serve as the framework for continued negotiations regarding the future sale and development of the current hospital property when the emergency department and outpatient services occupy a proposed new site in Cambridge.  This move is anticipated by 2021, although that date is contingent upon local and State approvals in order to move ahead. The City of Cambridge and Dorchester County MOU created an entity, Cambridge Waterfront Development, Inc. (CWDI), which ultimately will purchase the current hospital property, prepare it for development, and negotiate its sale by the spring of 2021.

“The County Council is very excited to continue the working relationship with the City and we thank them for the opportunity to participate as a partner in this monumental place-making endeavor,” says Council President Ricky Travers.  “We look forward to the completion of the CWDI board appointment process and we are excited about the direction this will take the waterfront for Cambridge. I was overwhelmed with the willingness of both the City and UM SRH to work as a team to guarantee success of this project,” Travers says.

Council member Don Satterfield adds, “This historic project and partnership is the product of significant effort from both City and County employees as well as the elected boards. It is a pleasure working with the City and I have full confidence that the project will be professionally managed and developed to its fullest.”

“We, as a community, are incredibly excited at the opportunity this provides the City and County,” states Mayor Victoria Jackson-Stanley. “The ability to combine the two land areas into one project, as well as the two primary governing entities working as one,create perfect alignment for a successful centennial project that will profoundly improve the viability of the Cambridge waterfront for years to come.”

While the LOI signed June 8 does not directly impact the health system’s required Certificates of Exemption (COE) application process, it does provide University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and UM SRH with an interested buyer, who shares the health system’s commitment and vision for a campus supporting the health care needs of people in Dorchester and neighboring counties, as well as the revitalization of Cambridge.

“We applaud the vision and leadership of Mayor Jackson-Stanley, President Travers and their councils,” says Ken Kozel. “It is our intent that through our shared process, we will reach agreement on the sale of our Cambridge property by the end of calendar 2018 and ultimately, transfer ownership of our property in the spring of 2021,  when we anticipate re-locating our services to the new UM Shore Medical Campus at Cambridge.”

UM Shore Regional Health plans to initiate the regulatory approval process in July with the Maryland Health Care Commission.  The health system will request converting the hospital to a freestanding medical facility, with a new, state-of-the-art emergency department and medical pavilion for needed health care services.  Plans call for the facilities to be constructed on a new medical campus in Cambridge by 2021.

Compass Regional Hospice will host a fundraiser for Camp New Dawn from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 28, at Fisherman’s Crab Deck in Grasonville.

Camp New Dawn, an annual grief retreat summer camp offered through Compass Regional Hospice is accepting registration for its 24^th season.Camp New Dawn is a four-day, three-night retreat held each summer at Camp Pecometh in Centreville. The retreat is designed to meet the needs of all ages and stages of grief, serving children and teens between the ages of 4 and 17,as well as their families.

The fundraiser will include a buffet dinner with crab dip, meatballs, chicken salad, rolls, pasta salad, potato salad and dessert. There also will be a silent auction and 50/50 raffles. Silent auction items will include jewelry, gift certificates, artwork and more. Music will be provided by The Ginger Cats.

The cost of the fundraising event is $30 per person in advance and $35 per person at the door. The fee includes all food and entertainment. Children under 14 are free.

For more information and tickets to the June 28 event, contact Kenda Leager, development officer, Compass Regional Hospice, at 443-262-4106 or kleager@compassregionalhospice.org.

Camp New Dawn Director Rhonda Knotts said the retreat helps participants learn healthy ways to express their grief.

“Under the guidance of professional grief support staff and specially trained volunteers, participants are taught healthy ways to express their grief in a safe, supportive and fun environment while also getting to know others who are on a similar journey,” Knotts said.

This year’s Camp New Dawn kicks off at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug.18.Campers ages 7 to 17 attend therapeutic workshops, age-specific grief support groups and may participate in supervised camp activities, such as swimming, fishing, and arts and crafts. A mini retreat for children ages 4 to 6 will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug.20.The retreat for campers wraps up after the closing ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20.

Camp New Dawn also includes an overnight adult and family retreat that begins at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19.While their campers are busy learning how to cope with their grief, parents and guardians are invited to attend the adult retreat designed to help restore participants to a place of wholeness as they learn to navigate their own grief journey.  Activities include grief support groups, therapeutic workshops and restorative activities, such as sunrise yoga and nature walks. The adults then are joined by their children for overnight family camp, where they come together to learn skills they can take home with them. Family camp ends Tuesday, Aug. 21, after the closing ceremony at 7p.m.

Camp New Dawn would not be possible without the support of Compass Regional Hospice’s specially trained volunteers. More than 100 volunteers help to make sure the weekend is fun and full of friendship and learning. The most visible volunteers are “Buddies” — caring and compassionate adults who are paired up with campers to provide support. There also are support staff volunteers who tend to every detail of camp by helping plan, set up and facilitate activities. Former campers, “PALS” and “Campatiers,” can be found helping in a variety of ways around camp,as well as sharing their own personal camp experiences with new campers.

The cost of Camp New Dawn is $30 per camper and $75 per family. These fees represent a small fraction of the actual cost of operating Camp New Dawn, and no one is ever turned away because of an inability to pay. Compass Regional Hospice relies on community donations, grants and fundraising events to cover expenses so that anyone who needs to attend may participate in Camp New Dawn. To offer your financial support toward the cost of camp or to sponsor a child to attend, contact Leager at 443-262-4106 orkleager@compassregionalhospice.org.

For more information or to register for Camp New Dawn, contact Knotts at 443-262-4109 or rknotts@compassregionalhospice.org. To become a volunteer, contact Courtney Williams, assistant Camp New Dawn director, at 443-262-4112 orcwilliams@compassregionalhospice.org.

Compass Regional Hospice – Care on your terms

Compass Regional Hospice is a fully licensed, independent, community-based nonprofit organization certified by Medicare and the state of Maryland and accredited by the Joint Commission. Since 1985, Compass Regional Hospice has been dedicated to supporting people of all ages through the challenge of living with a life-limiting illness and learning to live following the death of a loved one. Today, the organization is a regional provider of hospice care and grief support in Queen Anne’s, Kent and Caroline counties. “Care on your terms” is the promise that guides staff and volunteers as they care for patients in private residences, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and the residential hospice centers in Centreville, Chestertown and Denton. Grief support services are offered to children, adults and families of patients who died under hospice care, as well as members of the community who are grieving the loss of a loved one, through The Hope & Healing Center. For more information about Compass Regional Hospice, visit compassregionalhospice.org.

Team members of Shore Regional Health’s Requard Center for Acute Rehabilitation are planning the Center’s 10th anniversary celebration set for Wednesday, June 20, 2 to 4:30 p.m. in the Requard Center Dining Room on the 5th floor of UM Shore Medical Center at Easton.

According to Teresa Blem, director, Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services, the occasion will celebrate Requard’s 10 years of service providing rehabilitative care to approximately 600 patients every year, and also the Center’s recent achievement of re-accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

“The occasion will be an open house-style event and we are inviting former Requard patients as well as our colleagues and co-workers to come by to celebrate with us,” says Blem. “Any former Requard patient who would like to attend is encouraged to call Erin Scheele, 410-822-1000, ext. 2516, so we can reach out to him or her and extend an invitation.”

About UM Shore Regional Health: As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,600 employees, medical staff, board members and volunteers work with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.

Compass Regional Hospice and Grief Support Programs, serving Queen Anne’s, Kent and Caroline counties, hosted its “Celebrating Champion Legislators and Corporate Leadership Breakfast and Briefing” on Thursday, May 10, at Annie’s Paramount Steak and Seafood House in Grasonville. This was the organization’s first official briefing of its elected officials, business leaders and community guests from the three Mid-Shore counties it serves.

Sen. Stephen Hershey, R-36-Upper Shore; Del. Jeff Ghrist, R-36-Caroline; Del. Steve Arentz, R-36-Queen Anne’s; Del. Jay Jacobs, R-36-Kent; and Queen Anne’s County Commissioners Jim Moran and Jack Wilson attended the breakfast, where Compass Regional Hospice staff and members of its board of directors had the chance to say ‘thank you’ for a job well done during the legislative session this past winter, and for helping the organization to secure state funding, additional funds from the governor’s capital budget and Queen Anne’s County funding.

After a welcome from Compass Regional Hospice Board Chairman Tom Helfenbein, Heather Guerieri, executive director, Compass Regional Hospice; and president of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, briefed guests on “The Changing Landscape of Hospice and Palliative Care,” including its impact on health care costs to businesses and their employees.

“We are celebrating some historic milestones for our organization, that have been made possible thanks to the extraordinary support of our special guests and District 36 champions,” Guerieri said. “We’ve been providing hospice care in the region for 33 years, and many of you are partners and supporters of our work.”

Guerieri said the landscape of hospice care has been evolving in the past 10 years.

“Hospice is not a ‘place,’ and should not be referred to as a ‘death sentence,’” Guerieri said. “It’s a very caring and successful model of comfort care that can begin at the onset of a life-limiting diagnosis and continue through to a patient’s final days and moments of life. The spectrum of care reaches the patient, their loved ones and a patient’s caregivers.”

She said care can take place “in the comfort of one’s home, in an assisted living or nursing home environment, or in the more supervised patient care setting of a hospice facility,” like the ones Compass
Regional Hospice operates in Centreville, Chestertown and Denton.

Those providing care range from certified nursing assistants and registered nurse practitioners, to social workers, grief counselors and a wide range of volunteers, including those specific to veterans’ needs and those who are referred to as “vigil volunteers”—a volunteer who is present during the last days of a patient’s life.

Compass Regional Hospice takes care of infants and children, as well as adults in need of its programs, and patients are never turned away based on an inability to pay for services. Because of this, Guerieri said there is a $1.4 million funding gap between what the organization receives in service payments and the actual cost of care provided.

“Our daily census — the number of patients we are serving daily — is close to 100, and will continue to grow, especially as the elderly community grows, with more retirees moving to the Eastern Shore,” Guerieri said.

She said the organization is in the middle of its capital campaign, “Our Journey, Together,” and part of the $5 million campaign includes critical renovations and an expansion for the Compass Regional Hospice – Hospice Center in Centreville. The expansion will grow the facility from a six-bed facility to a 10-bed facility.

In addition to hospice patient care, Compass Regional Hospice also runs grief support programs.

“One of the most critical programs we run in order to serve the community is our grief support programs,” said Kathy Deoudes, emeritus board chairman.

Rhonda Knotts, director of grief services at Compass Regional Hospice, said loss is not solely about death, but about any type of loss, including those pertaining to relationships, independence, traumatic experiences and financial stability.

“About 15 percent of those who are grieving are also struggling with a mental health diagnosis. This can make their symptoms of grief much more severe,” Knotts said. “Through our grief support programs, we strive every day to normalize the feelings of those who are grieving and help them get on the path to a healthier healing.”

In addition to specialized support groups, Compass Regional Hospice also offers one-on-one sessions and healing workshops, all at no cost to those who need them.

Hershey and Ghrist gave a “shout out” to Gov. Larry Hogan for making funding for hospice care a priority during the legislative session, and Jacobs said he supported Compass Regional Hospice’s comfort of those who are grieving and dying. Arentz said hospice care on the Eastern Shore is a priority.

“It’s easy to get behind a need, and this is a need,” he said.

To learn more about Compass Regional Hospice, how you can donate or for volunteer opportunities, call 443-262-4100 or visit compassregionalhospice.org.

Compass Regional Hospice – Care on your terms

Compass Regional Hospice is a fully licensed, independent, community-based nonprofit organization certified by Medicare and the state of Maryland and accredited by the Joint Commission. Since 1985, Compass Regional Hospice has been dedicated to supporting people of all ages through the challenge of living with a life-limiting illness and learning to live following the death of a loved one. Today, the organization is a regional provider of hospice care and grief support in Queen Anne’s, Kent and Caroline counties. “Care on your terms” is the promise that guides staff and volunteers as they care for patients in private residences, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and the residential hospice centers in Centreville, Chestertown and Denton. Grief support services are offered to children, adults and families of patients who died under hospice care, as well as members of the community who are grieving the loss of a loved one, through The Hope & Healing Center. For more information about Compass Regional Hospice, visit compassregionalhospice.org.

Alvin Abend of Chestertown, a retired sergeant with the United States Air Force, recently was honored during a Veterans Recognition Ceremony at Compass Regional Hospice.

Compass Regional Hospice is a national partner of “We Honor Veterans,” a campaign developed by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Alvin Abend

Compass Regional Hospice honors all hospice patients who have served in the military with a special ceremony. Each honoree is presented with a pin, framed certificate, tabletop flag and a patriotic lap quilt made by volunteers. For veterans admitted to the hospice center, an American flag and the flag of the veteran’s branch of the service are posted on either side of the door to the patient’s room.

Trained staff and volunteers provide veterans and their families with local resources surrounding veteran end-of-life experiences, benefits and other ongoing projects to recognize the dedication of these heroes.

“Many of our veterans were not appropriately thanked for their service and dedication to our country, regardless of their level of involvement,” said Courtney Williams, manager of volunteer and professional services with Compass Regional Hospice. “Even if it is the first time they have heard someone say ‘thank you,’ it is important to everyone in our organization that we take the time to honor their service.”

Compass Regional Hospice enrolled in the program in 2012. In 2017, Compass Regional Hospice was awarded the “We Honor Veterans” partner level four distinction—the highest level an organization can reach. To achieve this distinction, a hospice center must provide ongoing veteran-centric education for staff and volunteers, build organizational capacity to provide quality care for veterans, and develop and strengthen relationships with VA medical centers and other veteran organizations.

“Our vets are a special population of our patients that require specialized care due to the experiences they have had in the military,” Williams said. “Through this program, we have reached level four by continuing to improve the care we provide to veterans and partnering with our community to ensure they receive the care they deserve.”

Through the “We Honor Veterans” program, Compass Regional Hospice gratefully acknowledges its military and service men, women and families. The mission of the program is to serve the nation’s veterans, who have served their country so selflessly, during their end-of-life journey.

As a veteran-centric organization, Compass Regional Hospice also provides a Vet-to-Vet program, which aims to pair veteran volunteers with veteran hospice patients. These hospice-trained volunteers, with personal military experience, have the unique ability to relate and connect with veteran patients and their families.

“Having volunteers with personal experience in the armed forces helps them to relate on a different level with our veteran patients. We are lucky to offer Vet-to-Vet volunteers to the patients we serve, so they have the opportunity of camaraderie,” Williams said.

Abend joined the Air Force in January 1964, eventually serving as a helicopter mechanic during the Vietnam War. Already a member of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in Texas, he recalled the day he went to volunteer to serve in Vietnam.

“We went to go volunteer (for Vietnam), and the guy said, ‘What’s your name?’ And I told him. (The officer said,) ‘You don’t have to volunteer. Your number’s up,” Abend recalled, saying his number was about to be called because of the draft, which was being employed by the federal government of the United States at the time to fill vacancies that were not able to be filled by voluntary means.

Once overseas, Abend was stationed in Udorn, Thailand, and was part of helicopter rescue missions for stranded U.S. troops along the Ho Chi Minh trail, a logistical system of mountain and jungle paths that ran through the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam, as well as through Laos and Cambodia. The trail was controlled by North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong used the trail to infiltrate troops and supplies on their way to South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

“If they were blowing up the trail and (U.S. troops) got hurt, then we would try to get (our men out),” Abend said. “The idea was to get them out, and (we) were quite successful, actually.”

Abend’s four-year service ended December 1967, and he returned home to Maryland, where he worked as a firefighter and ambulance driver for the City of Bowie. He also has worked in construction and drove tractor-trailers, hauling gasoline.

Originally from Gambrills, after leaving Bowie, Abend moved to Kent County with his wife, Margaret Founds.

“Our involvement in the ‘We Honor Veterans’ program has been so meaningful. We have been told by our veteran patients and their families many times that we are the first people that have ever recognized their service and honored them,” said Heather Guerieri, executive director, Compass Regional Hospice.“The recognition ceremony is very touching— to be able to honor our veteran patients before they die, and to give them the recognition they deserve.”

To learn more about the “We Honor Veterans” program with Compass Regional Hospice or to volunteer with the Vet-to-Vet program through the organization, contact Williams at 443-262-4112 orcwilliams@compassregionalhospice.org, or visit compassregionalhospice.org/volunteers.

Compass Regional Hospice – Care on your terms

Compass Regional Hospice is a fully licensed, independent, community-based nonprofit organization certified by Medicare and the state of Maryland and accredited by the Joint Commission. Since 1985, Compass Regional Hospice has been dedicated to supporting people of all ages through the challenge of living with a life-limiting illness and learning to live following the death of a loved one. Today, the organization is a regional provider of hospice care and grief support in Queen Anne’s, Kent and Caroline counties. “Care on your terms” is the promise that guides staff and volunteers as they care for patients in private residences, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and the residential hospice centers in Centreville, Chestertown and Denton.Grief support services are offered to children, adults and families of patients who died under hospice care, as well as members of the community who are grieving the loss of a loved one through The Hope and Healing Center. For more information about Compass Regional Hospice, visit compassregionalhospice.org.

David Whitby Memorial Golf Tournament founders Gary and Janet Wright.

The 10th annual David Whitby Memorial Golf Tournament, held at the River Marsh Golf Club in Cambridge on May 14, benefited programs and patients of the Cancer Center at UM Shore Regional Health.

Founded by Gary and Janet Wright 10 years ago after Janet’s brother, David Whitby, died from prostate cancer, the tournament is an important source of funding for prostate cancer awareness and screening programs as well as patient care. Brian Leutner, executive director, Oncology Services, describes the value of the tournament proceeds as immensely important.

“The tournament proceeds have funded our prostate screening events that are offered every year in September where we partner with the local urologists,” says Leutner. “These funds benefit our UM SRH ‘US TOO’ prostate cancer support group, which features guest speakers who are experts on the latest clinical trials, treatment protocols and strategies for managing prostate cancer and the effects of treatment. The David Whitby Memorial Fund at UM Memorial Hospital Foundation also has supported recent technology upgrades allowing for more precise treatments for our prostate cancer patients receiving radiation therapy. The entire staff of our Shore Regional Cancer Program would like to thank the Wrights, the tournament committee and Memorial Hospital Foundation for their continued support of our prostate cancer patients in our community.”

Thomas Sisca, clinical pharmacist and anti-thrombosis specialist, Gary Bigelow, regional director, Radiology and Kevin Chapple, regional director, Pharmacy were among the UM Shore Regional Health team members who participated in the tournament.

Adds F. Graham Lee, vice president of philanthropy for UM SRH, “Cancer of the prostate is one of the most commonly occurring cancers in men in the United States. The funds raised by those who organize and participate in the Whitby Tournament over the years have helped to purchase equipment, provide screenings and ultimately, to save lives.”

To support the David Whitby Memorial Prostate Cancer Fund, please call 410-822-1000, extension 5763.

About UM Shore Regional Health: As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,600 employees, medical staff, board members and volunteers work with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.