Voices From The Readers

Voices From The Readers
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November Hospice Month

Editor:

This November, as we mark National Hospice Month, Coastal Hospice is grateful to serve the four counties on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore, where there is such a strong spirit of generosity.

It has been 35 years since a small group of dedicated people came together to create Coastal Hospice. And in the years since, we have grown, not only in size, but in the number of ways we serve our community — and in the ways that community has reached back in support of our mission.

In 2006, we added a new program and updated our name, becoming Coastal Hospice & Palliative Care. From year to year, each change, each addition to our programs, has been met with an enthusiastic “Yes!” in our region.

In the past year, Coastal Hospice served nearly 1,100 patients and provided more than $650,000 in charity care. And that’s only part of the year’s story. A request for lap blankets sparked an overwhelming response, warming the hearts of our patients and staff. A partnership with Salisbury University created Camp Safe Harbor, not only helping children respond to loss, but also building the field of professionals prepared to deliver grief support to younger individuals. And our non-medical service, Compass: Connecting You to Support at Home, has taken root and is growing rapidly.

Our Palliative Care Clinic at the Richard A. Henson Cancer Institute at Peninsula Regional Medical Center is delivering support to almost seven times as many patients as it did just four years ago. That means that not only are more individuals getting help with life-limiting conditions, but more physicians are recognizing the value of palliative care for their patients.

Thank you for 35 years of supporting Coastal Hospice. We pledge to continue to earn your support and your trust for many, many years to come.

Alane Capen

Salisbury

(The writer is the president of Coastal Hospice and Palliative Care.)

Resort Should Extend Boardwalk Tram Season

Editor:

The article, “Berlin-Based Train Op Could Draw 72K Riders Per Year, Study Says,” in The Dispatch of Oct. 16, struck me.

I have been coming to Ocean City since 1957. I’ve always enjoyed riding the tram on the Boardwalk. As my wife and I no longer come to Ocean City, in the peak season as we do not enjoy the large crowds anymore, we come in the off-season.

But, and this is a huge but, we are dismayed that the tram does not run in April or October. We were in Ocean City for Corvette weekend and on Saturday the Boardwalk looked like a hot summer day, as it was packed with people. I am sure if the powers that be would have the trams running they would have been busy and made money.

We live in Pennsylvania and look forward to coming to Ocean City, and we love to ride the tram. Maybe the powers that be should consider the guests who come earlier in the year and later in the year and run the trams on the weekends. You might find it may pay off.

John Meisky

Lancaster, Pa.

Participants Thanked

Editor:

The Downtown Association would like to thank all who participated in the Drive in Disguise Boardwalk parade last Saturday. The weather was spectacular and the citizens and visitors were treated to some really imaginatively decorated vehicles.

Thanks also to the local businesses who offered discounts to the participants: Kite Loft, Dough Roller, Pickles, Dolle’s Candy, The Original Greene Turtle, Blue Ox, Pour House, Captain’s Table, Ayers Creek Adventures and Trimper’s Haunted House. Special thanks to the Ocean City Development Corporation for its continuing support.

We appreciate the local organizations who were at the Inlet Parking lot with information: The Town of Ocean City, OC Life-Saving Station Museum, Art League of Ocean City, Downtown Association and AARP Chapter 1917.

We also are indebted to the Ocean City Police Department, Ocean City Fire Department, the Stephen Decatur High School Marching Band and Chick-fil-A for joining us this year.

Next year we will be adding to the participants of the event — bicycles, individual costumes and other exciting possibilities. See you in 2016 for Drive in Disguise.

Ocean City Downtown Association