Hospice Plans Conklin Road Facility

Sat., Aug. 26, 2000

By Lorie Hutson lorieh@spokesman.com (509) 459-5446

Families who need hospice care outside of their homes will find a new retreat in the Spokane Valley by 2003.

Hospice of Spokane is planning to build an $8 million Hospice House and administrative building on Conklin Road between Valleyway and Broadway avenues. The nonprofit group has purchased 10 acres for the center, said Executive Director Anne Koepsell.

Since 1976, Hospice of Spokane has helped terminally ill patients die in their homes, Koepsell said, but for some people that is not possible. Some clients have no family, some need more care than they can be given at home and others have small apartments or no home at all.

Right now, options for hospice care outside the home are limited to assisted-living centers, nursing homes or hospitals. Hospice House will provide families with a home-like environment for the last days or weeks of life, Koepsell said.

“It was our clients who told us that we needed it,” she said.

The nonprofit group helped 900 people last year, and is on track to have more than 1,000 clients by the end of 2000.

Hospice of Spokane is raising money for the Hospice House through donations and memorial contributions, local and federal grants and tax-exempt bonds. Koepsell said they have a tentative floor plan for the center and will begin developing blueprints for the project next spring. Construction is expected to start in 2002, with the Hospice House opening about a year later.

Hospice House will have two wings, with 20 private rooms for clients and their families. Each room will include space for family members to spend the night.

The center will also have gathering space for families inside and outside, and a meditation room and memorial gardens for quiet reflection and bereavement. Full-time nursing care will be available.

The 25,000-square-foot Hospice House will be connected to Hospice of Spokane’s new administrative offices and bereavement counseling center which will be built nearby.

Hospice of Spokane serves Spokane, Pend Oreille and Stevens counties and parts of Ferry County.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.