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Hernando Today

Hospice Center Construction On Schedule

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By Tony Holt

Hernando Today

Published: October 20, 2008

Brooksville - Before a new hospice center could be built along State Road 50, there needed to be a prototype.

About four years ago, Hernando-Pasco Hospice built the Marliere Center in New Port Richey. Since then, one was erected in Dade City and another will open along S.R. 50, east of Weeki Wachee.

Patients from as far away as Citrus County are expected to use the upcoming hospice center after it opens early next year.

"We proved there was a need for it," said Mike McHugh, who used to sit on the board of directors. "After the success in New Port Richey, we knew we'd be designing and building more."

Local hospice residents currently live at a facility tucked behind a Golden Corral along U.S. 41 in Brooksville.

By the time the center opens in March, patients and their families will have access to private suites, places for prayer, counseling facilities and snack rooms. They will all be under one roof.

As of this week, all of the exterior walls were up and workers were putting the finishing touches on the drywall. The landscaping and electrical wiring were also being done, said project manager Jim Johnson.

"There has been extremely high demand for in-patient hospice care in Hernando County," said hospice spokeswoman Jane Freeman. "We felt it was time to build one."

The facility will have enough rooms and beds for up to 24 patients and their visitors.

Oftentimes, family members will want to be with their loved ones around the clock whenever they spend their last weeks or days at a hospice center. That is why the new building will include kitchens and paid cooks, Freeman said.

There will be accommodations available for those visitors who wish to spend the night.

Freeman recalled a story about a woman who was admitted to the facility in New Port Richey. When she entered her suite, she told her son, "This is such a beautiful place to be."

The rooms will be carpeted and will contain a wood-framed bed, night stand, coffee table, recliner, armoire and television set. There also will be a pair of French doors that lead to a "semi-private patio," Freeman said.

Each of the three wings will have a snack bar, along with a kitchen and dining room. There will be eight rooms in each wing.

The total land and construction costs for the new hospice center are estimated to be about $6 million.

It is located along S.R. 50, east of Oak Hill Hospital and will be included in the sprawling cluster of health care buildings located along the south side of the street.

"There is definitely a medical corridor there," said McHugh. "It's part of a large campus. It made sense to put it there."

Hernando-Pasco Hospice is a nonprofit organization that provides hospice services to residents in Hernando, Pasco and Citrus counties. It was established in 1982, according to its Web site.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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