COMMUNITY
 Above, an artist’s rendering of Hospice House as it will look when completed in 2008. |
December 2006
(Read the previous stories in the series.)
For more than 20 years, Calvert Hospice in Calvert County has provided a team of nurses, social workers, counselors, home health aides, clergy, therapists, and volunteers to care for terminally ill county residents. The Hospice team provides care for patients in their own homes where they can be comfortable and surrounded by loved ones without having to adhere to a facility schedule. Today, the Hospice has 28 full-time staff members including nurses, social workers, and clergymen, as well as 160 volunteers.
Hospice is meant to bring patients as much peace as possible in their final days. Services provided by Hospice are not meant to be curative—rather, they focus on symptom and pain control, as well as emotional support. A referral for Hospice care may come from any number of sources such as doctors, loved ones, or social workers, but the decision to accept Hospice care should always remain in the hands of the patient. Hospice services are covered by most insurance carriers, as well as by Medicare. Because Calvert Hospice provides care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, patients who have neither insurance nor Medicare are never turned away.
 Lynn Bonde, Executive Director of Calvert Hospice |
An organization like Calvert Hospice prospers best under consistent, caring guidance; Lynn Bonde provides just that kind of leadership. Ms. Bonde has been Executive Director of Calvert Hospice since 1998. Prior to coming to Hospice, she worked in the legal field. She also brought with her several years of experience in social work and in grief counseling. When Ms. Bonde decided it was time for a shift in careers, something about the Hospice concept called to her.
“When I walked through the front door, I knew this was where I belonged,” says Ms. Bonde. “And I was right. The feeling I get helping families through what may be the hardest time in their lives is unlike anything else.”
Since working with Hospice, Ms. Bonde has seen the daily average number of patients receiving Hospice care quadruple. The number of days each patient is cared for has increased, as well.
Calvert Hospice’s newest project is Hospice House, a home for those who can no longer be cared for in their own residence. When complete, the House will be staffed by Hospice 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, and will have the capacity to house 6 patients in a setting designed to feel like home. Hospice House is scheduled to be completed in 2008.
The land for the House has been donated, but donations of money, services, and labor are still needed. To find out how you can help, please call Lynn Bonde at 410-535-0892, or visit the Hospice Web site at www.calverthospice.org.