Can Hospice Help?
Six questions to ask:
- Has the person you're concerned about visited the emergency room or hospital more than once in the past 6-12 months?
- Has this person made more than one late-night or weekend call to the doctor?
- Is this person ever too sick to keep doctors' appointments?
- Has this person stopped improving with medical treatments?
- Has this person suffered from one or more complications? (For example, pneumonia, weight loss, or skin ulcers?)
- Does this person need help to bathe, dress or eat?
Please call our 24-hour Hospice Access Line at 410-822-2724 for information on referring to hospice or for a free in-home consultation.
What to expect when you call Talbot Hospice
What is Hospice Care?
Hospice care helps family members manage the practical details and emotional challenges of caring for a dying loved one. Talbot Hospice services are offered wherever you call home - in one’s own residence, in assisted living and nursing homes or at Hospice House. The goal is to provide comfort and dignity to our patients while focusing on improving one’s quality of life instead of on continuing with treatment to prolong one’s life. Talbot Hospice offers a comprehensive and holistic approach to the end-of-life.
What Hospice Provides
- 24/7 availability for assistance by a nurse
- Expert pain and symptom management by physicians and nursing staff
- Emotional and spiritual support for patients, families and friends by social workers and chaplains
- Regular visits in the patient's home and/or wherever they may call home such as skilled nursing or assisted living facilities
- Companionship and assistance from trained volunteers
- Therapies: speech, physical, occupational, music, massage and dietary counseling as needed
- Medications related to the hospice diagnosis
- Medical equipment and supplies related to the hospice diagnosis
- Bereavement support through counseling and support groups for families and friends after their loved one has died
- We care for patients regardless of their ability to pay
If a patient is living at home, Talbot Hospice can
- assist family caregivers in learning how to care for the day-to-day needs of the patient
- provide home health aides to assist with personal care and light housekeeping
- carefully monitor the patient’s condition so we can help before any crisis may arise
- provide friendly volunteer visitors so caregivers can get some respite away from the home for a few hours
If the patient is in a skilled nursing or assisted living facility, Talbot Hospice can
- work collaboratively with facility staff to ensure pain and symptom management
- provide emotional, spiritual and practical support to patient and family members
- provide extra nursing, social work and chaplain visits to your loved one at the facility to enhance quality of life
Talbot Hospice Stories
Learn how Talbot Hospice helped these families travel the end-of-life journey with their loved one.
