McCarthy Care Center in Sandwich Upgraded to Provide Higher Level of Care

HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE OF CAPE COD
INVITES PUBLIC TO PREVIEW
CAPE COD’S FIRST HOSPICE INPATIENT UNIT
McCarthy Care Center in Sandwich Upgraded to Provide Higher Level of Care
HYANNIS - Sept. 16, 2008 - Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod (H &PCCC) is pleased to invite the public to attend an Open House Celebration on Thursday, Oct. 2 from 4 to 7:30 p.m. to preview its new McCarthy Care Center at 73 Service Road in Sandwich, between Exits 3 and 4. A ceremony will be held at 5:15. Hors d’oeuvres will be served, with wine and beer courtesy of Luke’s Super Liquors of Cape Cod.
The ten-bed Care Center is in the process of receiving final approval from the State of Massachusetts to become a hospice Inpatient Unit (IPU), similar to an acute care/intensive care unit for hospice services.  Once approved, it will be the only such license granted on Cape Cod and only the third in the state. This allows for the provision of a higher level of skilled care at what was formerly a hospice residence known as the Mary McCarthy Hospice House.
H & PCCC Chief Executive Officer David Rehm says, “We are delighted to provide patients and families with a unique, medically sophisticated home-like setting that can help patients and families avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits. We welcome the opportunity to meet a fuller scope of physical needs, along with the comprehensive spiritual and emotional care we provide.”
The house was temporarily closed over the summer in order to make the renovations required to meet licensure requirements. During the closure, the residential program, including all patients and staff, was moved to Whitehall Estates, an assisted living center in Hyannis. Upon the receipt of the license and re-opening, patients and staff will return to the facility.
H & PCCC Vice-President for Clinical Operations Susan Garcia Strauss says, “We cannot thank Whitehall enough for their extraordinary job of partnering with us during this transition process. Our patients and families have continued to receive the high level of care that is our standard. We look forward to our ongoing collaboration in serving our shared community.”
The Mary McCarthy Hospice House originally opened in 2002 on land donated by the Jillson family of Sandwich. More than 1,000 community individuals, businesses and foundations contributed to the Capital Campaign for its construction.  It was designed by Cape Cod architect Grattan Gill to support patients’ and families’ physical, emotional and spiritual needs through an abundance of natural light, color and materials, and an overall design that enhances privacy, efficiency, comfort and personal space. All are invited on Oct. 2nd to preview this exciting addition to Cape Cod’s medical resources.
For more information call 508-957-0200