Caring for County Residents, 'Through all Stages of Life'
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Montgomery Hospice this year is celebrating 25 years of offering comfort and companionship to residents during their final days. The nonprofit hospice offers a range of services and has helped thousands of people, regardless of their ability to pay.
Ann Mitchell, president and chief executive of the organization since 1998, writes about its role and mission in caring for those who are dying.
It's no secret that Montgomery County is a good place to live. Opportunities to work, study and play are among the many reasons people from all over the world make Montgomery County their home.
However, there is more to quality of life in our community than even longtime residents may realize.
Since 1981, Montgomery Hospice has had the privilege of providing "comfort care" to county residents at the end of life. What we have learned in that quarter-century of caring confirms that this is a good place to live, through all stages of life.
Among the lessons that caring for the dying has taught us about living:
We're healthy. Montgomery County has the second-lowest death rate in Maryland, trailing only much-smaller Howard County. Deaths in Montgomery County have held steady at about 5,500 per year since 2000, even as our total population has grown to almost 1 million. This notable indicator of public health shows that we are a vibrant, vital population.
We use comfort care. Many Montgomery County residents seek the best possible quality of life, even as life is fleeting.
A remarkable 22 percent of residents who die locally each year choose Montgomery Hospice to provide comfort and compassion during their last months or days. Compared with national norms, this use of comfort care is high and shows that our area is home to advanced, community-based care.
We love to be home. For growing numbers of Montgomery County residents nearing the end of life, living fully means living at home.
Montgomery Hospice's core service, Hospice at Home, has helped 15,000 local patients live their final months or days in their own residences. In houses, apartments, nursing homes and other facilities, Hospice at Home helps people live out their lives with dignity and in familiar surroundings.
