Some hospices have recently expanded the reach of their inpatient services while other providers have temporarily shuttered these programs.

AMOREM Set to Launch Inpatient Facility

North Carolina-based AMOREM will soon unveil a new inpatient hospice care facility to help improve access in its home state.

Located in Boone, North Carolina, the facility will expand inpatient care access across three of the seven counties that make up the geographic region commonly referred to as High Country. Currently, residents in Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties must travel two hours to the nearest inpatient hospice facility.

Community support for the facility has been mounting to address lagging resources, said David Jackson, president and CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Families want to know what health care is available to them, and being able to add this to the list of services in the High Country is incredibly helpful for families who are local and for families that are looking to put down roots,” Jackson told local news. “At such a vulnerable time, it is important for families to have a resource like a patient care unit right in their backyard. AMOREM provides comfort and understanding in ensuring that their compassionate and incredibly skilled nurses are there to support patients and families. The value of that time cannot be measured and that is one of the beautiful things that a patient care unit facility can give — time.”

The new inpatient care unit is anticipated to open this year and features seven patient rooms in a home-like environment, along with family gathering areas. The facility has been four years in the making, with AMOREM receiving the greenlight from state regulators to break ground in 2021.

AMOREM provides hospice care across 12 counties in the northwestern region of North Carolina. The nonprofit hospice provider also offers palliative care, grief support and advance care planning services. AMOREM also has an advanced cardiac care program.

Mitchell House Relaunches Plans to Open

Mitchell House, a nonprofit in Sioux City, Iowa, is opening the city’s first boarding house for hospice patients in coming months.

The house was slated to launch in the fall of 2020, with construction halting due to financial constraints. The nonprofit organization temporarily paused plans to open due to a lack of funding and rising construction costs during the pandemic. Mitchell House is anticipated to open later in 2025.

“To the families and the people, we’re going to make them a home,” Susan Mitchell-Macfarlane, chairman and president of Mitchell House, told local news. “Is this [facility] ever going to happen? But now that it’s here, it’s so exciting.”

A portion of the former Countryside Nursing Home is currently undergoing renovations as the boarding house’s new site. Initially planned as a six-bed facility, Mitchell House will feature nine rooms, one of which will be utilized for family members to rent for overnight stays.

The house is designed for terminally ill patients whose residences are not suitable for routine or continuous home care, or those whose care needs are too complex for family caregivers to manage. While Mitchell House doesn’t provide medical care directly, local hospices and other health care providers will have access to the facility to treat patients residing there. Nurses, volunteers, social workers, chaplains and aides affiliated with Mitchell House will provide additional support.

The nonprofit organization is currently raising funds to help furnish the new facility and to help provide training for staff and volunteers.

“It takes an army,” Mitchell House Executive Director Kim Kropp said. “You can be a daughter, a wife, instead of being a caregiver at home trying to manage your loved one at home. We can provide that support and you can just be the loved one.”

Hospice of the Red River Valley Unveils New Office, Inpatient Center

North Dakota-based Hospice of the Red River Valley has relocated its administrative office space to a larger location, which will also be home to its new inpatient hospice facility.

Dubbed as ​​Heather’s House, the new facility is currently under construction and projected to open by this summer. In addition to general inpatient care (GIP), bereavement support and respite services will also be available at the new facility.

The new center marks an important growth milestone, as well as a new opportunity to improve quality for terminally ill patients with higher levels of need that cannot be managed in the home, said Tracee Capron, executive director at Hospice of the Red River Valley.

“We’re not about dying, we’re about living and how do we help these people live as well as they can,” Capron told local news.

The new facility is named after the family of Dan and Heather Butler, who have provided philanthropic support and volunteer services to the hospice for several years.

Located in Fargo, North Dakota, the hospice center will feature 18 private patient beds with outdoor access. The facility is anticipated to have a $28 million price tag to complete. Hospice of the Red River Valley anticipates serving roughly 1,205 patients annually at the center.

Established in 1981, Hospice of the Red River Family’s geographic service region spans more than 60,000 square miles across North Dakota and Minnesota. The nonprofit operates 10 locations and has roughly 250 employees and more than 300 volunteers.

Agrace Sunsets Inpatient Center

Agrace has temporarily halted operations at one of its inpatient hospice facilities in Janesville, Wisconsin, citing staffing issues as a leading factor.

The inpatient hospice facility features 12 patient beds. The decision to temporarily close the center came after nearly a year of recruitment challenges, according to Liz Kopling, assistant vice president of marketing and communications at Agrace.

Agrace’s decision to shutter inpatient services at the facility followed 10 months of “struggling to recruit enough staff,” Kopling told local news. The hospice provider is currently seeking long-term solutions to continue to meet the community’s needs, she stated.

Agrace provides hospice, palliative and supportive care across 19 counties in Wisconsin.

Administrative operations will continue at the facility, with Agrace continuing to provide community-based care to roughly 200 patients and their families across the region of Rock County, Wisconsin.