Gathering Marks the Launch of the Lower Eastern Shore’s First Residential Hospice
OCEAN PINES, Md. – May 15, 2019 – With the snip of oversized scissors, a large teal bow fell away and the doors to the Macky & Pam Stansell House swung wide to guests celebrating at the opening ceremony this morning.
“Today marks the end of our planning and the start of our serving,” said Coastal Hospice President and CEO Alane Capen. “More than 2,000 people across the Lower Shore and the State of Maryland came together to turn this dream into reality, and we honor them.”
Stansell House is the region’s first residential hospice facility, providing care to patients with life-limiting illnesses who are no longer safe at home or who need more care than a family can safely provide.
“With so many retirees living in Worcester County and across the Shore, including my own parents right here in Ocean Pines, the need for a residential hospice has been building,” said Maryland Senator Mary Beth Carozza who represents the district. “The Stansell House will be a place of quality care for so many patients and their families for years to come.”
The three-story Stansell House is located on 11 acres at 1500 Ocean Parkway in Ocean Pines, Md. Previously intended as a clubhouse in a residential community, it has been elegantly repurposed to incorporate a main floor residential hospice with palliative care facilities on the top floor and staff facilities on the ground floor. It features 12 patient rooms, a family room, kitchen, spa and dramatic views of the Isle of Wight Bay.
The architect for the project was Becker Morgan Group, the general contractor was Whiting Turner and the landscape design was done by Sposato Landscape Company, Inc.
Led by co-chairs Dirk Widdowson and Walter “Macky” Stansell, Jr., Coastal Hospice has raised more than $6.5 million to date, including two $500,000 Bond Bills from the State of Maryland spearheaded by then Sen. Jim Mathias.
“This has been one of the most exceptional experiences of my life,” said Macky Stansell. “When my wife’s mother was ill with cancer many years ago, I had never heard of hospice. My wife and her sister wanted their mom to move in with us, and at first I said, ‘absolutely not!’ But it turned out to be the most amazing gift. I will forever be grateful for hospice and how it made her last days so much more than I imagined.”
To learn more about Stansell House, or to donate, visit www.StansellHouse.org.
