What happens to the 85-year-old man dying of congestive heart failure, with no children close to home and an ailing wife? Where does he go for the support he needs and desires?

What about the 55-year-old-woman dying of breast cancer whose husband and parents can no longer care for her? Where can they go for support?

What is the best choice for the 42-year-old woman whose pain is so out of control that she is unable to get out of bed? Nothing seems to be working, and she wants her pain controlled well enough for her to travel to visit her elderly mother who is confined to her home.

Designed to be the ideal home away from home, a hospice home provides patients and their families the opportunity to expand their relationships and provide optimum medical attention in comfortable surroundings with around-the-clock care. Facing a terminal illness is a difficult situation for anyone. While the comforts of home and family may be desired, what happens when the proper level of day-to-day care is unattainable in a home environment? A hospice home is a place to live and accept life's end in peace, with comfort and dignity.

Hospice patients choose to focus their efforts on the value of palliative (comfort) care—and no longer pursue life-prolonging treatment. Anyone diagnosed with a terminal illness can be eligible for hospice. It is not just for patients with cancer, but also for end-stage heart and lung disease, kidney failure, AIDS, Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

Hospice patients are often cared for either in their homes or in nursing facilities. A hospice home is designed to meet the needs of terminally-ill patients who:

• Have symptoms that cannot be controlled at home;
• Have a short period of time left before they die and are unable to remain in their home; or 
• Need brief respite for the primary caregiver.

Specially trained staff members at a hospice home are available 24 hours a day for patients and strive to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life and support family-altering decisions for patients with life-limiting illnesses.

A hospice home facility provides:

• 24/7 nursing care
• Physician services 
• Social workers 
• Personal care aides 
• Pastoral care, extensive spiritual and religious support 
• Bereavement services to patient and family 
• Volunteers.

The OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home
On September 20, 2010, OSF Home Care Services revealed the name of its hospice home facility—the OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home. After a recent leadership gift from Peoria resident Hootie Owens, the current fundraising total for this project is $3.7 million. OSF Home Care Services will continue fundraising efforts to secure $6.5 million before any project completion or groundbreaking activities can be presented to the board for approval. State of Illinois officials have also issued OSF Home Care Services a renewed license with the intent that the facility be fully operational by April 1, 2013.

The OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home will be located in Peoria near the OSF Center for Health on Route 91. Aside from being this area’s first hospice home, this would be only the fourth such facility in the state of Illinois. This facility will support nearly 1,200 terminally-ill patients and their families each year who live within a 60-mile radius of Peoria. It will include 16 private rooms for patients who cannot receive care in their own homes due to the progression of their illnesses or the lack of family or others to care for them in that setting.

The OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home amenities will include:

• Credentialed staff specializing in end-of-life care
• Two patient care wings with eight patient rooms in each wing 
• Private patient rooms with couches and chairs for families who desire to stay 24 hours a day 
• Warm family-like setting for patients and families 
• Homelike décor and discreet medical support in each room (For example, there will be oxygen in each patient room hidden behind paintings mounted on the wall.) 
• Family room in each wing with a television, library and fireplace area 
• Dining area for patients and their families (coffee, microwaves, refrigerator) 
• Visitor showers and laundry room 
• Children's playroom with glass visibility and video monitoring 
• Outdoor garden and walkway/play area 
• Routine religious services 
• Chapel that can be expanded to double capacity for memorial services, church services, family weddings, etc. 
• Massage and hydrotherapy room for patients 
• Open access 24 hours a day 
• Volunteer room (over 100 volunteers are needed to be on staff at this facility) 
• Hospice team station in each wing 
• Offices and meeting/education room for staff 
• Internet area.

For more information, testimonials about hospice care, donation opportunities and a full virtual tour of the OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home, visit osfhomecare.org. iBi