Note: This not a review of the complete Calvary Hospital service portfolio, which also includes a…read moresocial work aspect.
Few people give thought to dying and death. Most people probably vaguely plan to pass away peacefully at home, perhaps surrounded by loved ones. But this isn't possible sometimes. For such times, an inpatient hospice facility can handle end-of-life transitions peacefully and respectfully -- for the most part.
Calvary Hospital is one of the larger hospice providers in the New York City area. ArchCare operates the 18-room Dawn Greene Hospice under the banner of Calvary Hospital, at the Mary Manning Walsh Home, a nursing home in the Upper East Side. The Hospice is on the 15th Floor.
Patients may expect to suffer a few frustrations:
- Patient records may not transfer smoothly from previous healthcare providers.
- The food is not good. The hot water could be a little hotter.
- Patients may be discouraged by staff from using the in-room bathrooms, and asked instead to use underpads or bedside commodes.
- Patients may be discouraged by staff from leaving their beds.
- Some weekend staff seem less responsive and responsible than most weekday staff.
Many of these limitations are understandable. Hospices are designed, staffed, and funded for palliative care; not emergency care, not curative care, not assisted living. That said, staff could be better trained in wound care.
The duration of a patient's stay at a hospice may be anyone's guess. The balancing act between the incredible resilience and tragic frailty of the human condition can be unknowable. The one surprise of our experience here was that they asked us to remove our loved one on the same day as death. This hospice, as with most, apparently does not have a morgue, and must comply with health mandates. Do have concrete plans for a funeral home or mortuary as your loved one enters a hospice.
Visitor Logistics:
- The best way to reach Dawn Greene Hospice is via mass transit, as on-street parking is scarce and nearby parking garages are expensive. However, parking websites / apps may provide coupons for nearby parking garages.
- Consider making restaurant reservations or using Yelp's Waitlist feature early if there is a possibility of eating dinner in the area -- the best nearby restaurants do fill up early.
- Visitor check-in / check-out is handled by the nursing home.
- There is VPN-friendly Wi-Fi. Ask for the password at the front desk.
- A patient shower room by Elevator Bank A serves as a makeshift visitor bathroom. (Each patient room has its own bathroom, but with a non-lockable door.)
- The Family Lounge is a comfortable room, with a television, circular conference table, individual lounge-style chairs, a loveseat sofa (i.e., seats two), a refrigerator with freezer, a microwave, a K-cup coffee / tea maker, and a cold water and ice dispenser. Weekly meal menus for patients are posted here, as is the meal delivery schedule.
- As a reminder, items placed in the refrigerator / freezer must be labeled.
- During the Covid-19 quarantine, visitors in the Family Lounge are asked to keep their masks on and stay 6 feet apart.
- There are no accommodations for visitors who wish the spend the night with their loved ones, other than the cushioned in-room lounge chair and whatever footrest can be found. This is typical of most inpatient facilities.
Overall:
Despite some misgivings, Dawn Greene Hospice does a good job overall in providing an important service that meets most patient, family, and visitor needs. We don't live in a perfect world; better treatment would require significantly greater systemic investment, or deeper pockets for private nursing services. I am grateful that this hospice made the last days of our loved one more comfortable than they would have otherwise been.