The Alice B. Tawes nursing home will remain open until a replacement facility now under construction is complete in 2010. It is the only not-for-profit facility of its kind in Somerset County and has an unmatched reputation for personalized, skilled nursing care.


The Tawes nursing home receives high marks for quality care in routine surveys conducted by the federal government.

Residents live in private or semi-private rooms. Some current rooms feature a four-bed configuration. The current nursing home in a single-story structure. To facilitate construction of the new nursing and rehabilitation center, some nursing beds and four inpatient rehabilitation beds were transferred temporarily to the second floor of McCready Hospital.

The nursing home accepts private pay and insured residents, including those eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

Physicians visit residents regularly. Nursing coverage is around-the-clock. Rehabilitation therapists, a dietitian, a social worker and other health-care professionals see residents as needed.

Each resident’s care is coordinated by a group of these professionals. This “Care Planning” team also includes residents’ family members.

Home away from home

From the day the Tawes' nursing home opened in 1968, we have believed the fundamental nature of this place -- its meaning -- lies instinctively in the word “home.” It is where our residents live. Our staff, residents’ family members and visitors all understand this.

Our residents are free to decorate their rooms with personal objects and furniture. There is a modest fee for cable TV service.

Residents are encouraged to wear their own clothes during the day and if they’re able, leave their rooms to dine in the dining room, to socialize and participate in a diverse schedule of activities. These include birthday parties, ice cream socials, holiday celebrations, contests, crafts, music and exercise. There is a salon where a hairdresser washes, cuts and styles hair and gives permanent waves for a small fee. Laundry service is also available, but some families prefer to wash their relatives’ laundry at home.

Family members are welcome to visit residents, to assist at mealtime and to participate in activities and celebrations. Nursing home volunteers, local clergy, service organization members and teachers and their students often spend time with residents as well. Some residents venture home with relatives for brief visits.

Activities staff members occasionally take residents into the community for meals, shopping or sight-seeing. This is possible because of the generosity of the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, the John & Hannah Handy Crisfield Improvement Fund, the Tawes Nursing Home Auxiliary, the Crisfield AARP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Department and other donors whose contributions enabled the McCready Foundation to purchase a minivan.

For a tour or for information on the Alice B. Tawes Nursing & Rehabilitation Center or to discuss amenities in the new facility, contact administrator Novella Bozman via e-mail or by calling 410-968-1200 (Ext. 3213).