COVID-19 Update for Patients and Families
Talbot Hospice is closely monitoring Coronavirus developments in Maryland. As you know, the Governor of Maryland and public health officials are urging people to practice social distancing to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Talbot Hospice is committed to ensuring the safety of our patients, our staff and our community while continuing to provide needed services to our patients and families.
For Home Care Families
We strongly suggest you limit the number of visitors to your home and the frequency of visits. We discourage visits with younger people, as they can be carriers, and with those who have not routinely visited in the past.
We urge you to consider using Zoom, FaceTime, Skype or other video conferencing tools that allow you to see and talk to friends and family without compromising your environment. We recognize that this may present some challenges, but strongly encourage you to use these tools for everyone’s safety.
For Inpatient Visitors
Beginning Monday, June 1st, we will resume visiting hours from 2pm to 6pm for 1 visitor per day. Below is a list of visitation guidelines to ensure both our patients and their families remain safe during the facilitation of this process. We will continue to evaluate our visitor policy and keep you informed of any additional changes.
- Visiting Hours are 2pm-6pm daily.
- It is permitted for each patient to have one (1) visitor per day. This is required to be one of two designated individuals and must be the same person daily to minimize the number of people in the facility.
- Once a visitor leaves for the day, they will not be permitted to re-enter the building.
- Visitors will be screened upon admission to the facility with the designated questions regarding travel, exposure and symptoms. If yes is answered to any question, they will not be admitted to the facility.
- The Visitors temperature will also be taken and if above 99.8, they will not be admitted to the facility.
- Each visitor must wear a mask and gloves, provided by Talbot Hospice, upon admittance to the facility. These must be worn at all times. Gloves must be changed after contact with the patient or surfaces.
- Visitors will be escorted to and from the patient room by a staff member.
- Visitors must remain in the patient room at all times. The patient call bell should be utilized if a staff member is needed or when the visitor is ready to leave for the day.
- Non-compliance with any of the above requirements will result in no admittance to the facility.
- In the event that a patient becomes imminent, each case will be reviewed to determine if any concessions can be made. These will be made on a case by case basis.
Grief Support
We have canceled or postponed all in-person grief counseling appointments and events at this time. However, people are evaluated on an individual basis and we are serving the bereaved through technologies such as Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meets, and other platforms. We also host Zoom support groups for members already enrolled in the program, before COVID-19. We are encouraging anyone who is looking for support to email the Bereavement department so that we can offer a personalized approach. We are utilizing social media platforms, so we encourage them to watch the videos and continue to check back as we continue to offer additional resources and means of support. Should you require assistance during this time, or if you would like to make arrangements for an individual session, please email bdemattia@talbothospice.org or call 410-822-6681 and someone will assist you.
Volunteer Visits
We have temporarily suspended all in-person volunteer visits to our patients, families and community.
Community Events
We have also postponed all grief workshops, support groups, and events until further notice. Our Memorial Walk will be a virtual walk in September.
Festival of Trees has evolved into a virtual event and you can get more information at www.festival-of-trees.org on how you can support this great fundraiser.
Talbot Hospice COVID-19 Support Fund-Please Donate!
As a nonprofit, fundraising efforts sustain Talbot Hospice’s programmatic needs and our ability to provide our services to anyone that needs them free of charge. These services are provided by our dedicated staff of nurses, clinicians, and others who have continued to care for our patients and their families while also being impacted by this pandemic at home.
A special fund has been created to support our caregivers and respond to emergent needs as we experience unexpected hardships while continuing to care for our patients every day during this crisis. The fund will also help us purchase urgently needed personal protective equipment and medical supplies our caregivers use daily.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in making the health and safety of our patients, families, and staff our top priority. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.
Should you have questions regarding these procedures, please contact Talbot Hospice Compliance Officer, Mary Jane Meintzer, at mjmeintzer@talbothospice.org or 410-822-6681.
For the latest updates on the Coronavirus Outbreak, please visit the CDC website, the Talbot County Health Department or Governor Hogan's Office.
