Hospice of the Red River Valley recently began construction on a new inpatient facility in North Dakota. Set to open by 2024, Heather’s House will expand hospice care options for both adult and pediatric patients.
Development of the hospice house has been a long journey. The hospice’s recent announcement follows nearly two decades of fundraising and preparation, as well as pandemic-related delays.
But fallout from the outbreak also underscored the need for such a facility, according to Tracee Capron, executive director for Hospice of the Red River Valley.
“We wanted to make sure that it is sustainable long into the future,” Capron told local news. “Not having, in particular during COVID, access to the person that you love or your child or your spouse is not acceptable. COVID absolutely pushed it. That was a challenge, but the need has grown greater.”
Through the 18-bed facility, the hospice will provide patients inpatient end-of-life care when their symptoms can no longer be managed in the home. Patients will receive round-the-clock care from an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and other medical aides.
Families will also have access to bereavement services and support, community education classes and support groups, as well as respite care.
Designed to provide a home-like environment, private rooms feature patient beds that can be wheeled outside, and guest rooms include accommodations for family and friends to stay overnight. The hospice house also features shared kitchens and living room spaces, a dining room, library, chapel and a four-season room.
At a price tag of $28 million, Heather’s House is fully donor-funded. The facility is named after Heather Butler, a long-time volunteer for Hospice of the Red River Valley. Butler and her husband Dan are among the donors supporting the project, local news reported.
Established roughly 40 years ago, Hospice of the Red River Valley is a community-based nonprofit that serves more than 400 patients daily across 44,000 square miles in 40 counties of North Dakota and Minnesota.
North Dakota ranked comparatively low in hospice utilization among Medicare beneficiaries in 2018, reaching a rate of 31%, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. This fell below the national average of 50.3% that year. Minnesota ranked 11th that year at 53.5%.
Much like the rest of the country, a swelling aging population is driving up demand for serious illness and end-of-life care in both states.
The U.S. Census Bureau projected that seniors will make up roughly 30% of North Dakota’s overall population by 2030, a rise from currently 15.7%. Meanwhile, nearly one in five Minnesotans will be 65 or older by that same year, according to the state’s demographic center.
Capron estimated that each year roughly 1,205 adult and pediatric patients and their families will receive care through the new hospice house.
Heather’s House will provide a space for children and teens to receive concurrent care alongside hospice services. Pediatric patients will have access to technology, art supplies, activities, music and toys, along with a “Village Row” area featuring a soda shop, gaming room and general store.
“We took the first giant step of a long-held dream: a freestanding hospice house,” the company stated in an announcement. “We’re excited to provide the community with hope, resources and a lasting legacy of compassionate care.”
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