Signing the papers that make Hospice of the Chesapeake’s acquisition of Hospice of Charles County final are, from left, Delegate Edith Patterson, Hospice of Charles County Board of Directors Vice Chair; Mike Brady, Acting CEO, Hospice of the Chesapeake; and Regina Moody, Chief Operating Officer, Hospice of the Chesapeake.
During an unprecedented time in history that is filled with uncertainty and anxiety for so many in our community, Hospice of the Chesapeake has turned this year into a time of unprecedented growth and commitment.
While pivoting to keep pace with the constant changes brought on by the ferocity of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cared for an average of more than 580 hospice patients each day, which is a number never seen before in our 41-year history.
As part of our long-term strategic planning process undertaken in 2019, we committed to caring for more Maryland citizens than ever before in our history. In early 2020, we began conversations about a potential partnership with Hospice of Charles County around the expansion of supportive care. After many months of collaborative conversations, the two leadership teams agreed that a merger of the organizations would be the most beneficial. We are honored to announce that on Oct. 1 we began to integrate the two local nonprofit organizations. Our goal for the citizens of Charles County is to strengthen their access to care for those living with advanced complex illness as well as to provide grief support. Hospice of Charles County brings with it a long-standing heritage in its community. It, too, was founded by local volunteers and supported by many community organizations and local leaders.
In addition to growing our hospice care geographically, we also focused on expanding our supportive care services to reach more patients who are living with advanced complex illnesses. We are serving those who can benefit from additional support as they navigate the complexity of a new diagnosis or rapidly advancing illness but are not quite at the point of needing hospice care. Through collaboration with our local healthcare partners, we have significantly increased the care we provide in reach and depth.
During this time of growth, it became apparent that it was time to change the perception of Hospice of the Chesapeake in our community. In the last 15 years, we have grown from a traditional hospice team in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties into regional experts in hospice care, supportive care, general inpatient care, grief support for those who have lost a love one to illness and trauma, as well as grief education. As we progressed down this winding path, our brand and logo needed to more accurately represent the new Hospice of the Chesapeake and the many new ways we care for the community. In response, we launched a full-scale brand audit and research campaign to gather community and professional opinions on our evolution. That in-depth analysis and reflection gave birth to new logos and creative for each of our business lines. We have included them with this article and are happy to share that we launched these new looks on Sept. 1. We truly believe this path represents the future of our organization and leaves room for more growth in ways we might not anticipate today.
Throughout all these positive changes, we know we have your support as we promise one this will never change: We will always be an organization that is caring for life throughout the journey with illness and loss. We know we will always be there when the community needs us.
