After 10 years of planning, and many wondering if it would ever happen, the hospice house is finally open, providing a totally unique environment to meet our community’s end-of-life care needs.

What a blessing to see this dream come to fruition. I also was part of the process
of bringing a hospice house to Great Falls, Mont., where the building construction was supported substantially by one large donor. In Spokane, the process was a bit different, with many $5 or $50 donations from hundreds of people. That’s why we think of it as “the people’s house.”

And that’s truly the spirit we hope to embody at Hospice of Spokane. We are about the community and what the community’s needs are.

Our next steps include doing more of what we’re doing now: removing barriers that exist between us and those who need us. Educating our community about what we do and whom we serve–that we are a resource for all, no matter the situation, diagnosis, age or income level. Striving to be a regional resource, so that anyone anticipating a loss knows we’re here. Making sure people know our care is much broader than just the last few days. Getting more people comfortable with the notion that we all die.

People die with or without us, but we want the opportunity to be a supportive presence for them and their loved ones during their end-of-life journey. The hospice house is just one way we can do that. One family member recently praised it as a “beautiful, healing place that brings a calming environment to families, attuned to the spiritual and emotional aspects of the final journey.”

It is indeed that.