Spy Reconnaissance: Talbot Hospice with President Susan Piggott

Editor Notes: Over the next year, the Spy will be checking in with a number of leaders in the nonprofit community on how their organizations are faring, and the the challenges they face to deliver on their mission. We are naming this series Spy Reconnaissance.

While it might not be immediately apparent, it seems that running a small private school in Bethesda for many years is an excellent background to have when leading the Talbot Hospice Foundation.  That certainly is the case with the organization’s president Susan Piggott as she helps maintain the hospice’s stellar reputation while moving forward on expanding its facilities and capacity.

In her Spy interview, Susan talks of the importance of hospice work in Talbot County, the nonprofit’s certification process and her organization’s unique role in helping and respecting end-of-life decisions of those they serve.

This video is approximately six minutes in length

Some Talbot Hospice Facts

 Hospice services for Talbot County will soon be unified in one organization, Talbot Hospice.

 Talbot Hospice will begin enrolling hospice patients in November, when the licensing process to become a full service hospice is completed.

 Previously, hospice services in Talbot County were provided by two organizations, Shore Regional Health, which supplied skilled medical and nursing care, and Talbot Hospice Foundation, which supplied spiritual, bereavement and volunteer services, along with its residential facility, the Guest Wing. With the completion of this transition, Talbot Hospice will be able to provide all services under one roof.

 Talbot Hospice has just hired an experienced clinical team including hospice nurses, social workers and health aides to merge with their existing staff of spiritual and grief counselors and their corps of 350 volunteers.

 When Talbot Hospice is fully licensed, their clinical staff will travel throughout Talbot County to wherever people call home; personal residences, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes.

 The skilled field staff will be equipped with laptop computers that will allow them instant access to a patient’s record, and to update the individualized plan of care on a daily basis.

 Talbot Hospice will enroll patients seven days a week. Community members will be able to talk to a nurse 24 hours a day.

 During this transition, hospice patients continue to be served in the Guest Wing at Talbot Hospice House on Cynwood Drive in Easton.

 Talbot Hospice is undergoing a building expansion project to add six guest rooms, a bereavement center, new offices for program space, and offices for medical staff.

 The new expanded building means there will be a Hospice Center in Easton for Talbot County citizens where all hospice personnel and support are located

 The final stage of the Capital Campaign is in process with a goal to raise $500,000 to help cover the up- front capital costs to become a full medical hospice; including upgraded phone and IT systems, new electronic medical records systems and software; special furniture and equipment for the residential Guest Wing; and computers, software and office furniture for medical staff. Call Kate Cox, Director of Development, 410-822-6681 x15 with questions.

 Talbot Hospice is located at 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton MD 21601, 410-822-6681