What is a Community Home for the Dying?
Community homes for the dying, sometimes called social model hospice houses, have been around for more than 25 years in our country. They are rooted in the origins of hospice – serving the dying through a community network of care. These homes are run by not-for-profit community-based collaborative organizations that partner with existing local resources.

These homes, located in our neighborhoods and part of the community we live in, focus on the unique needs of those in the last days of their life, and their families. The desire for deep connection, meaning, and purpose are honored while families are supported. Staff and volunteers are trained specifically in end-of-life care.

Why A Community Home for the Dying?
Often a person cannot stay in their home at the end of their life. Perhaps the home is not well set up, there is no family caregiver, or they are unable to assist with the care needed. Maybe it’s too hard physically or emotionally. Or the family or individual is not comfortable with the idea of dying at home. We want to honor and respect the unique needs of both the individual and the family offering a home that specifically serves those at the end of life.

A New Way to Serve the Dying and Their Families
Friends of Hospice has been augmenting and supporting end-of-life care since 1994. Our services and support have expanded as new needs are identified: Advance Care Planning, Music & Memory, Threshold Choir of the Palouse, Living Legacy, Massage Therapy, and Grief Support groups. We have in place many services that augment a community home for the dying project.

Our goal is to make Serenity House an integral part of end-of-life care on the Palouse. This home does not replace any services currently offered. Our home will fill a gap in services and we pledge the following for the dear souls who will live with us for a short while:

• A place of welcome and support in the last weeks of life, with a gentle, guiding hand for the individual and their family to reach out for reassurance and comfort.
• Loving support and assistance with daily needs, meals, and 24-hour wake staff in a warm, inviting home setting by dedicated, caring staff and gifted volunteers.
• The licensed hospice agency provides all the Medicare hospice benefits and medical treatment, just like they do for any hospice patient, including symptom and pain management.
• Admission requires the person be enrolled and remain in hospice and be in the last month of life.