Chautauqua Hospice and Palliative Care helps hundreds of families in our community through a family’s most heart-wrenching times each year.

For one man recently, the thought of facing the end of his life without his hospice caretaker was too much to bear and the man tried to wander away. The incident prompted Liz Frederick to wonder if it was possible for Hospice to have in-home, 24-hour care for patients in the end of life.

Frederick’s question — prompted by concern for her neighbor — was the start of a capital campaign to turn a Lakewood house into a hospice house. Currently the closest hospice house is in Warren.

To date, $1.1 million has been raised from donors and foundations toward the $2.1 million project, and the residence is expected to open next year. The facility, which is located next to CHPC’s administrative offices on Fairmount Avenue in Lakewood, will include five patient rooms to accommodate the diverse medical needs of patients. CHPC expects to serve more than 200 patients a year at the hospice residence. To support the effort, visit https://chpc.care/hh and find the “Donate” button.

The Lakewood hospice house is a wonderful extension of the cherished work Chautauqua Hospice and Palliative Care provides in our community. It will provide a comfortable place for a loved one to receive medical care in a home-like setting at the end of their life when comfort and peace of mind is all that can be provided.

This is a worthy effort that we hope the community will support.