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For more information, contact:
Robin Tindall-Taylor, Foundation Director Haywood Regional Medical Center rtindall@haymed.org
(828) 454-9339

For immediate release:  August 31, 2007 (Clyde, NC)

Building Site Selected for HRMC Hospice & End- of-Life-Center

The HRMC Hospital Authority Board of Commissioners approved the property site for the new Hospice & End-of-Life-Care-Center. The serene wooded lot is located on the southwest corner of hospital-owned property.

For more than fifteen years, Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospice has been helping patients and their families cope with the emotional, psychosocial and spiritual aspects of dying. The hospice team also provides bereavement counseling, not only to hospice families, but also to anyone in the community who is dealing with the loss of a loved one, no matter the circumstances. According to Donald Schumacher, President and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization,” What Hospice does daily is more than traditional healthcare. It’s providing solutions for difficult times when hope is in question and being close by in a time of fear.”

Due to this need, the HRMC Foundation, a 501c (3) charity has begun fundraising efforts to aid the process of charitable funds to support the HRMC Hospice & End-of-Life-Care Center. Plans are underway to build a center for end-of life-care services in Haywood County in two phases.

Phase I will primarily focus on outpatient services and community outreach programs. A building committee comprised of physicians, nurses, volunteers, architects and administrators has worked diligently to plan this caring haven where grieving families can take comfort in the tranquility of the pleasant surroundings and meaningful services.

Wells Greeley, President of Wells Funeral Homes and building committee member said, “ Dr. Pass and I have been talking about this project for quite some time. I was involved earlier in the formative years of the hospice program. HRMC Hospice has really come to be one of the great organizations of this community. It represents a continuum of care. In my business the most frequent words I hear about HRMC Hospice are typically spoken by a family member who says “I don’t know what we would have done without Hospice.”

The building (Phase I) will provide space for HRMC’s Hospice & End-of-Life team of medical professionals therapists, clergy and volunteers where they collaboratively manage patient care. Philosophically, Hospice focuses on caring, not curing; and in most cases the staff and volunteers attend to patients in their homes. Hospice also expands beyond in-home care as services are offered in hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Hospice services are available to patients of any age, religion, race or illness, regardless of ability to pay. Hospice care is covered under Medicare, Medicaid, most private insurance plans, HMOs and managed care organizations.

Palliative medicine, which extends the principles of hospice care to a broader population that could benefit from receiving this type of care earlier in their illness or disease process, is also provided.

As of August 30, $923,000 had been raised towards the $2 million dollar goal.
“This project is for our whole community,” said Jenny Williams, HRMC Hospice Program Manager. “It’s for people who are grieving as well as for those who want to make educated decisions about choices of treatment.”

Highlights of the new building (Phase I) include private rooms for counseling services and bereavement therapy, work areas for volunteers, children’s therapy room, a reference library for resources relating to terminal diseases and end-of-life issues, and a community education center that will also serve as the Chapel for memorial and butterfly release services. The architectural drawings are expected to be completed by the end of September. Groundbreaking is planned for 2008 pending funds available.

With regards to the eventual addition of Phase II, an inpatient facility is planned to be connected by a courtyard. “In looking at the question ‘how does someone want to spend his or her final days?’ HRMC Hospice assists with providing choices as well as expert care,” said Williams. A hospital is definitely not where most people want to spend their last days. With a hospice house, comprehensive care will be consistent and we can provide quality care, while also assuring as a good of a quality of life as possible.” For more information on how to make a donation to the Hospice & End-of-Life Care Project, please call the HRMC Foundation 828-454-9340.

Building committee members strategize about how to best utilize the property which will house the HRMC Hospice & End-of-Life-Care Center. Left to Right: Wells Greeley, President, Wells Funeral Home; Beverly Murray, Director of Home Care Services; Jenny Williams, Hospice Program Manager; Mike Pass, MD, Hospice Medical Director; Al Byers, Sr. Vice President, HRMC; and Lisa Bradley, Adult Services at the Haywood County Department of Social Services, (Missing members are Peggy Melville, Bob Bahnsen, and Charles Starnes.)