Sinai Hospital Opens Dedicated Inpatient Hospice Unit

Baltimore, MD - Sinai Hospital is now one of a small group of Maryland hospitals to have a dedicated inpatient hospice unit within its walls. The 15-bed unit is intended to help patients transition between curative or acute hospital care and palliative/hospice care in patients' own homes or in another setting. 

"Our hospice unit is about shifting gears from treating someone aggressively to maximizing their comfort as they engage in an advanced care planning process related to their illness," says Diane Johnson, Sinai's vice president of patient care and its chief nursing officer. "The unit and hospice program are designed to emphasis family-centered care and allow for loved ones to spend as much time here with a patient as possible." 

In addition to well-appointed, private patient rooms, the unit has a large family room, a café-style family lounge, a kids' play area, a visitors' bathroom with a shower, and furniture that converts into beds and recliners so visitors can stay overnight. Family pets are also allowed on the unit. 

Hospice physicians, nurse case managers, social workers, chaplains, nurses, aides and volunteers will staff the unit. Along with advanced medical interventions, patients will receive care that includes pain management, psychosocial and spiritual support, and touch and music therapies. 

Sinai Hospital is a part of LifeBridge Health, one of the largest, most comprehensive providers of health services in northwest Baltimore. LifeBridge Health also includes Northwest Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Courtland Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, and related subsidiaries and affiliates.