Health Literacy Program Pre-Testing Underway

BERLIN – Atlantic General Hospital recently held pre-testing for the next roll-out of its health literacy program, a partnership with Worcester County public schools and Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy at the University of Maryland College Park School of Public Health.

Pre-testing for second, third, fourth and fifth graders throughout the county occurred in January. The roll-out is new to Showell, Buckingham, Snow Hill and Pocomoke elementary and Snow Hill and Pocomoke Middle schools this year. First grade did not receive testing due to the broad range in development at this grade level, but they are being introduced to integrated health literacy curriculum.

Seal Of Approval Awarded

SALISBURY – Coastal Hospice & Palliative Care announced it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^® for Home Care Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with hospice performance standards.

The Joint Commission awards the Gold Seal of Approval, a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to providing safe and effective care, for a three-year period.

Accreditation is not required of hospice providers.

The accreditation process helps Coastal Hospice remain current with best practices among providers. As a result of this survey, the Coastal Hospice team not only learns from others in the field but also contributes its own best practices to the profession.

Coastal Hospice underwent a rigorous on-site survey in December 2014. A surveyor from The Joint Commission uated the organization’s compliance with home care standards reflecting key organization areas, including the provision of care, treatment and services, emergency management, human resources, individual rights and responsibilities and leadership.

“When individuals engage a home care provider, they want to be sure that provider is capable of providing safe, quality care,” Margherita Labson, executive director of the Home Care Accreditation program for The Joint Commission, said. “As the home care setting becomes increasingly popular, it is important that home care providers are able to demonstrate they are capable of providing safe, high quality care. Accreditation by The Joint Commission and the Gold Seal serve as an indication that the organization has demonstrated compliance to these recognized standards of safe and quality care.”

The Joint Commission’s hospice standards are developed in consultation with health care experts, home care providers and researchers, as well as industry experts, purchasers and consumers.

“Coastal Hospice is pleased to once again receive accreditation from The Joint Commission,” Alane Capen, president of Coastal Hospice, said. “Staff from across our organization continue to work together to strengthen the services we offer and deliver excellent hospice care for those in our community.”

Shore Market Update

BERLIN — Inventory decreased in many areas of Maryland’s Eastern Shore region in January, according to The Long & Foster Market Minute reports, which are compiled from data from residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales.

Some areas of the Eastern Shore market, which includes Worcester, Wicomico, Dorchester, Queen Anne’s, Talbot and Caroline counties, also saw increases in the number of homes sold.

Though numbers varied around the region, the Eastern Shore real estate market saw some positive trends in the number of homes sold in January. Worcester County, for example, enjoyed a 48-percent increase in the number of units sold. That number rose by 35 percent in Talbot County, while other areas experienced decreases from 3 percent to 29 percent.

Inventory decreased in most of the Eastern Shore region when compared to year-ago levels, according to January data. Wicomico County saw a decrease of 10 percent and Worcester County had a 9 percent drop. Inventory in Caroline and Talbot counties dropped by 8 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Dorchester County saw inventory decrease by 4 percent, while Queen Anne’s County experienced a 6-percent rise in inventory.

The median sale price varied across the Eastern Shore region, with Dorchester County seeing an 11-percent increase and Worcester County seeing no change compared to the same month last year. In Wicomico County. the median sale price dipped by 4 percent, while other areas experienced declines from 6 percent to 34 percent.

“In January, we saw some positive trends happening in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast real estate market, including in the Eastern Shore region, with many areas seeing decreases in active inventory and some areas seeing growing numbers of homes sold,” said Jeffrey S. Detwiler, president and chief operating officer for The Long & Foster Companies. “These are some good developments in the world of real estate, and we’re expecting to see a healthy spring market in 2015.”