Residents Lament Local Hospice Closure

The has terminated all services, effectively ending efforts by area residents interested in preventing its closure. 

"Technically, they cannot yet close because they haven't been granted permission by the DSS, but they've imposed an embargo on themselves that they aren't going to take new patients," State Rep. Dan Fox (D-134) told Patch. Fox, along with other local politicians such as State Sen. Carlo Leone, led Stamford residents in a rally to save Stamford's only care facility for the terminally-ill.

According to Fox, the 12-bed Rosenthal Hospice will remain closed regardless of a Department of Social Services decision on the facility's status in early January, and it may be quite some time before there is another hospice to replace it. and Hospice Care of Southwestern CT voted to close the facility located on the Stamford Hospital campus on Shelburne Road.

"I heard that there are those types of parties interested in providing that type of service here in Stamford, particularly for this area of Connecticut, in which there is a need for hospice services. Again, a lot of that hinges on these regulation, which are hopefully going to come before Connecticut in the very near future. I think once those come before the regulation review committee at the state capitol. Should they pass, the idea of owning a hospice will be much more attractive for various entities," Fox said.

While the Rosenthal Hospice was revered by many, as evidenced by the "standing room only" attendance during the facility's public hearing, it internally languished due its official status as a skilled nursing facility. A long-term difficulty for the facility was meeting the requirements of a skilled nursing facility despite being a hospice. According to Fox, residents involved with trying to save the hospice are dismayed at the loss of what they considered to be a treasure of the Stamford community.

"I think the community has a need for a facility such as the Rosenthal Hospice. There were many families in the community who had a strong attachment to the facility, so its a great disappointment, many people are upset, and so maybe a new facility will come along and provide the same high-level of care that the Rosenthal Hospice provided for 11 years," Fox said.

While Fox and others remained hopeful throughout the process of saving the hospice, not even Fox was certain if they would be successful.

"I think for the time being, operating a facility such as a hospice here in Connecticut can be very difficult in that the requirements are strict, and the standards set are very high," Fox said.