Hospice named OPA nonprofit of year

Editor,

On Nov. 16 at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club, Coastal Hospice was proud to receive the Nonprofit of the Year Award from the Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce.

Thank you to the members of the Chamber for bestowing this prestigious honor on us. Thank you, as well, to the Worcester County Commissioners, State Sen. Jim Mathias, and Del. Mary Beth Carozza for their official citations and commendations that night.

This honor really belongs to the staff from Coastal Hospice who do the work. Without their outstanding efforts, Coastal Hospice would not have made the impact on the communities, patients and families who the Chamber recognized. On a daily basis, our staff cares for more than 200 patients.

Our mission is simple, yet challenging: “Coastal Hospice promotes dignity and quality of life for patients and families who face life-limiting conditions.” We celebrate life and do all we can to make our patients comfortable and at peace.

Our staff likes to say, “We meet our patients where they are.” That could be physically, medically, socially, or spiritually. We try to help patients stay at in their own homes, because that is where most people want to be.

Soon, there will be another option located in Ocean Pines. The Macky and Pam Stansell House at Coastal Hospice at the Ocean will be a 12-bed hospice residence for those without an able caregiver at home.

With the help and vision of many people — including our fundraiser leaders Macky Stansell and Dirk Widdownson — we acquired an abandoned clubhouse at The Point at the end of Ocean Parkway. It is a spectacular location overlooking the bay and the Ocean City skyline and will be a calming place for our patients to live out their lives.

We look forward to our expanded presence in the Ocean Pines community. The work of Coastal Hospice goes on and will leave only a bigger footprint on Ocean Pines and the entire Lower Shore in the years ahead.

David Hanlin

Vice President of Operation Coastal Hospice &

Palliative Care