Resources for Aging as Friends:
The following is not meant as an exhaustive directory but rather as a short, curated list of resources for Aging as Friends.
Three local organizations which provide practical help as well as consultations about resources for seniors are the Maryland Community for Life (Partners in Care), the Talbot County Senior Center, and Talbot Hospice.
- The Community for Life Program was developed by the Maryland Department of Aging to provide support for seniors aging at home with transportation, handyman services and wellness classes among other programs. Members pay a monthly fee. In Talbot and Caroline Counties, the program is administered by Partners in Care, 8694 Commerce Drive #1, Easton, MD 21601; www.partnersincare.org, Tel. 410-822-1803.
- Talbot County Senior Center provides classes, programs, games, workshops and lunch on weekdays at Brookletts Place, 400 Brookletts Ave., Easton, MD 21601. Membership is free but there are fees for some classes and programs. www.brooklettsplace.org. 410-822-2869.
- Talbot Hospice Foundation provides compassionate end-of-life care for patients in their homes, in the 12-bed Eleanor Koons Hospice House or in a care facility regardless of a patient's ability to pay. Hospice care focuses on providing relief from pain and stress to improve the quality of each patient's life. Bereavement support is available to individuals and in groups both before and after the death of a loved one; the loved one need not have been a Talbot Hospice patient. Pathways is a non-medical pre-hospice program of support services to individuals with long-term chronic conditions. Talbot Hospice, 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, MD 21601; 410-822-6681; talbothospice.org.
Three websites are particularly helpful at targeting the needs of seniors. The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and the New York Yearly Meeting collaborated on Quaker Aging Resources, which is available at https://www.pym.org/aging-services/aging-as-friends/. The Maryland Department of Aging has information on almost any topic you could want: https://aging.maryland.gov. And AARP has many useful programs available to its members: https://www.aarp.org.
Suggested readings include the following:
- Faith and Practice, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 2018, "Extracts from the Writing of Friends," pp 180-184; and "D. Queries and Checklist on End of Life Matters," pp 219-222.
- Five Wishes, Aging with Dignity, P.O. Box 1661, Tallahassee, FL 32302
- Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters at the End, 2014, Atul Gawande
- The Conversation: A Revolutionary Plan for End of Life Care, 2015, Angelo E. Volandes
- The Other Talk: A Guide to Talking with Your Adult Children About the Rest of Your Life, (AARP), 2014, Tim Prosch
- The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness, 2004 and The Measure of Our Days: A Spiritual Exploration of Illness, 1997, Jerome Groopman.