Hospice of the Piedmont

Peggy* was very ill. Her children lived thousands of miles away, her sister was no longer able to meet all of Peggy’s needs, and her husband had dementia. When her cancer progressed Hospice House became the home that Peggy needed. She was so frail when she arrived it was assumed she would only live a week. But the care she received at Hospice House was excellent, and Peggy began to thrive. Her children were delighted to know she was in good hands. “My family has been totally relieved of anxiety, and that is a blessing.”

Up until her last day, months after admission, Peggy described her care as “the best under Heaven.”

Hospice House was designed to provide safe, skilled, compassionate care in a warm, homelike setting for hospice patients who cannot remain at home during their final weeks or months of life. For these patients, Hospice House is a place of refuge and support where they are treated with dignity and kept comfortable, alert, and pain free.

Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance provide a basic daily rate for hospice care; however, Hospice of the Piedmont is not reimbursed for providing room, board, and round-the-clock staff, in addition to the other costs of operating Hospice House. Families with the means to do so are asked to pay a daily rate for room and board on a sliding scale, based on income.

Patients who are uninsured or unable to share in these costs are never denied access to Hospice House. In fiscal year 2009, Hospice of the Piedmont provided more than $136,000 in “community care” for patients who could not pay for their stay, an increase of 2% over the previous year.
In late 2007, Hospice of the Piedmont kicked off a three million dollar endowment campaign to ensure that Hospice House remains a resource to the community for generations to come, and to ensure that no one in need is ever turned away. Today, more than $1.69 million has been committed to the cause.

Naming opportunities in Hospice House are available for donors interested in memorializing a friend or loved one, and pledges over time are welcome. For more information about supporting Hospice of the Piedmont please contact Karen Ratzlaff, Director of Development (434/817-6910 or karen.ratzlaff@hopva.org.)