WHEAT RIDGE, Colo., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Exempla Lutheran Medical Center and the LMC Community Foundation formally announced plans to build a new Exempla Lutheran Hospice Care Center in Wheat Ridge, Colorado’s first free-standing hospice, designed and built for end-of-life care. Zoning for the new project received approval last night from Wheat Ridge City Council.
“Our new hospice will fulfill a growing need in the community for compassionate and high-quality care for people in their last stage of life,” said Exempla Lutheran Medical Center’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Malte. “In 2005, Exempla Lutheran Medical Center marks its 100-year anniversary and in many ways, the hospice is a gift back to the communities we serve and made possible by the generosity of community members and physicians practicing in our community.”
Capital Campaign
The LMC Community Foundation is spearheading a $7.5 million capital campaign to raise funds for construction, land and initial operating costs of the hospice. The foundation’s goal is to raise all $7.5 million before the end of 2005. According to Eggeman, designing and building the new Exempla Lutheran Hospice Care Center from the ground up allows the hospice to address special end-of-life needs. “The hospice will be supported by an environment designed to make patients as comfortable as possible and alleviate the emotional and physical stress families experience when taking care of a loved one in their final days,” Eggeman said.
The Hospice Care Center will feature all-private patient rooms, private admitting areas, in-room beds for family members wanting to stay overnight, a library with computers and Internet access, private outdoor courtyards and gardens, family lounges with fireplaces, a family kitchen and dining room, and a children’s play area. A chapel will provide an environment for prayer and meditation for all spiritual orientations.
Meeting Community Needs
Lutheran Medical Center currently offers a nine-bed Hospice Inpatient Unit at the hospital but has not been able to keep up with demand for inpatient hospice care. Significant growth of the aging population, coupled with an increasing awareness of and desire for hospice care, were the primary reasons to build the Exempla Lutheran Hospice Care Center.
“We have received strong support from our communities for this hospice,” said Kenneth W. Eggeman, Ph.D., LMC Community Foundation president and CEO.
“Through the capital campaign, we anticipate support will continue to come from a variety of sources including private organizations, physicians practicing at Lutheran Medical Center, and individual donors.” Several naming opportunities exist for areas that include the entryway, hospice care center wings, the chapel, education suite, caregiving areas, courtyards and gardens, benches and the library. Donors interested in supporting or receiving more information on the Exempla Lutheran Hospice Care Center may contact LMC Community Foundation development specialist Hannah Lucas at 720-898-5911.
Exempla Lutheran Medical Center
CONTACT: Chuck Montera, +1-303-778-8355, chuck@siglerinc.com, forExempla Lutheran Medical Center; or Jeanine Spellman of Exempla LutheranMedical Center, +1-720-898-5920, spellmanj@exempla.org