Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Since 1994 Friends of Hospice has been providing support and assistance at the end of life for individuals and families. They have accomplished this through grief support groups, advance care planning, and family assistance.
But with all they have done, there has been something missing.
“There’s a gap in care in our region,” said Annie Pillers, director of Friends of Hospice. With all the services, what was missing was a place for those at the end of life, who are unable to be in their own home.
“Now we have a place,” Pillers said.
That place is Serenity House in Pullman. The three bedroom house is being set up to offer hospice care for people at the end of life, but needing care beyond what their family can provide at home.
“We’ve had lots of people really excited by this,” Pillers said.
Community homes like Serenity House have been in the United States for 25 years, but there are none in the Palouse region. The nearest are in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.
About two years ago the Friends of Hospice board started working on the project by studying such facilities in other areas.
The board decided at its March 24, 2017, meeting to find a location for a house. At first the plan was to just rent a building, but a location that was for sale was found over last Memorial Day weekend and the sale closed June 16.
Since then, the house has been undergoing renovations by KACI Construction to make the single level home accessible for those on hospice and their families. Furniture is on the way and staff is being hired. The rooms will serve one person each and are big enough for family to be in the room .
Usually in a hospice situation, a family member is the primary caregiver.
But, as family can be spread out, the Serenity House will be able to provide a place for those without family near-by.
In cases where a family member is the caregiver, the Serenity House also provides a place that caregiver can step back into the role of just wife or son. Pillers noted it is exhausting to be a caregiver and a community home helps relieve that stress.
Serenity House is not owned by a medical hospice provider, unlike those in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Medical care will still be provided, but Friends of Hospice will handle the rest.
“I think there’s a gift in good-bye,” Pillers said.
The house will be staffed 24/7 by CNAs and home care aides which Friends will train specifically in end-of-life care. There will also be a need for volunteers to help make the house more homey: gardeners, cookie bakers, snow shovelers and house-keepers.
“It’s about community. Whatever we have in our homes we’ll have in this house,” Pillers said. She added that community is a big part of life and death and this is an extension of that.
“It’s very community-oriented,” she said.
Friends of Hospice is about to submit for a license from the state which usually takes six to 12 months. Once open, Serenity House will be able to serve one person. After the license is granted, the house will be able to serve a person in each bedroom.
According to Pillers, there have already been referrals for the house. They anticipate serving people from as far as Latah, Asotin, Garfield and Nez Perce counties. She has consistently been told they will have a waiting list, but until the house is operating, they won’t know.
An open house with sneak peek tours will be Sunday, March 18, 1 to 7 and Monday, March 19, 4 to 7 at the house located at 1125 SE Sandalwood in Pullman. Applications are still being accepted for CNAs and Home Care Aides.
Serenity House also has a wish list of items needed for maintaining care at the Friends of Hospice Facebook page or website: http://www.friendsofhospice.net
Jana Mathia is a reporter at the Whitman County Gazette.
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