By Tim Velder, PRECorp Marketing Communications
There is comfort for your grief at the Close to Home Hospice House of Gillette.
The Close to Home Hospice House of Gillette provides for the patient’s needs and amenities for families. Terminally ill patients who enter hospice care feel dignity, comfort, trust, and hope as they spend precious time with their families and friends toward the end of their life.
Families who keep a vigil during the final days or weeks of their loved one’s life do not feel miles away from home during those final days.
“I loved it from the beginning,” said Linda Sheehan, whose mother entered hospice care there. “It not only became my mom’s new home, but our whole family felt it was ours too.”
Sheehan said the hospice staff not only cared for her mother, but they also provided aid and comfort for the family members with a library, kitchen and dining area, and a kids’ play room. There are six private Hospice suites, complete with heated patios for year-round access.
There is an open commons area that adjoins an open kitchen where families can gather all hours of the day or night. A children’s play room, furnished by equipment from local schools, adds a feature for youngsters who accompany the family during Hospice visits. The average age of Hospice patients in Gillette is lower than the national average. This means that young children who are related to a patient in the facility may actually be there for a parent, instead of a grandparent.
Five hotel-style suites give overnight accommodations to people who are forced to make unexpected arrangements when a loved one is in Hospice or in the Campbell County Hospital.
“The hospitality ladies were always available to us and encouraged us to use anything we needed and would get it for us if needed,” Sheehan said. “We used the rooms to stay in. It made a huge difference since we had people from out of town come to visit and the rest of the family lives out of town, so, on late nights it was a blessing to get to stay right there.”
“This place really becomes an extension of their home,” said Executive Director Nachelle McGrath. “We try to make people feel at home because many of them are in a high-stress situation, whether it is emotionally or physically.”
The facility, under the auspices of the Campbell County Healthcare Foundation (CCHF), opened in 2010. Its founders raised 70 percent of the $7 million price tag paid through donations and grants. The promoters have continued their mission to raise all of the money necessary to make the facility debt free.
When the Powder River Energy Foundation gave $5,000 to the Hospice house in 2011, the donation’s impact instantly doubled with help from a matching grant from the Daniel’s Fund.
“We’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” McGrath said. The two main fundraisers for the Hospice House are the Black Cat Ball and the Festival of Trees. McGrath said the focus of paying off the loan in the first half of 2012 is an important phase of moving the facility toward operational independence. They will still rely heavily upon donations from area families and fundraisers to operate, but the multi-dimensional facility will be wholly owned by the CCHF.
The Powder River Energy Foundation’s gift is an example of how a small amount of giving can make a much larger impact. The Foundation derives a significant amount of its giving power from Operation RoundUp and the generosity of members of Powder River Energy Corporation.
Every month, members contribute a few cents to the Foundation through their monthly electric bill which creates a big impact for area charities. The Foundation’s Board of Directors focus their giving to make the biggest possible impact for local communities.
