Hospice House of Comfort Seeks Support

Hospice of Little Traverse seeks financial support to build the House of Comfort, House of Care, which will be a place for patients and families to come for care and services.

(PRWEB) July 16, 2005 -- Hospice of Little Traverse Bay (HOLTB) has never had place of its own to call home. The inconvenience of not having a permanent facility has caused confusion for families seeking their services, the staff has to transport materials to offsite support group meetings and privacy in counseling sessions can be affected when holding appointments in borrowed facilities.

To maintain the level of service the HOLTB programs have achieved, the next step for HOLTB is to secure a home" of its own. The House of Comfort, House of Care will be a place for patients and families to come for care and services. The home will also be a place where HOLTB can, for the first time, bring their staff, volunteers and service facilities together under one roof in a permanent work environment and improve productivity.

As the service area expands and more seniors come to live (and die) in the Little Traverse Bay area, the demand for HOLTB services is increasing dramatically. Other contributing factors include the addition of new and unique programs to meet patient/family needs and greater awareness of HOLTB as an essential community resource, awareness attributable to the important work HOLTB performs for area residents

Nationally, 75% of people express a preference for dying at home but only 22-23% actually do. And while the majority of hospice care will continue to be provided in patients homes, assisted living facilities, nursing homes and hospitals, the need for a hospice house is quite real. There are those who have their own homes, but the burden of care is too much for their exhausted, stressed and frightened families.

For those who live alone without family nearby, for those needing 24/7 care, for those who prefer a home-like setting to that of a hospital or nursing home and for those who may not have a home of their own, the hospice residence would be a better way to spend their last days...in a residence that acts as their home and one that offers the comforts of home with the best possible care.

The HOLTB hospice house will have six patient bedrooms and will also house a Community Grief & Loss Center, the place to come for answers, guidance and counsel. The house would facilitate individual counseling, support groups, educational workshops and an expanded resource library all in one location. The patient bedrooms would be individualized, each with a private bath and decorated with the comforts of home...a place where patients are comforted and where hospice families can create lasting memories, share laughter and tears and find the peace of life in its final stages.

Land near the NMH Lockwood-MacDonald campus has been acquired from Northern Michigan Hospital. Architectural drawings, floor plans, city of Petoskey approval and DEQ approval are already signed, sealed and delivered so final plans, permits and other documentation are in hand.

Over 54% of the funding necessary to make HOLTBs House of Comfort, House of Care" a reality is already in place. The needs are real, the time is now and, at this point, it all comes down to raising the balance of the funding required to proceed with the project.

The goal of HOLTBs hospice house campaign is to raise the $3.5 million needed for construction of the building plus $1 million for an operating endowment to ensure the financial stability of the project into the future. To meet these goals, financial gifts of any size are needed to help make this dream come true.

For more information on how you can help the House of Comfort, House of Care become a reality, visit www.hospiceltb.org or call (231) 487-4825.

###