Seacoast Hospice, a local non-profit organization that has specialized in end-of-life care and support since 1978, is opening the Hyder Family Hospice House in Dover to provide a place for patients without caregivers to spend their last days in peace and comfort.

There will be a public groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, April 12 at the House’s future location on County Farm Road in Dover.

“Right now we go into people’s homes, and we go into nursing homes, but there was a missing part of the service we provide to the community,” said Bill Parkinson, director of development for Seacoast Hospice, in a phone interview.

Seacoast Hospice, whose motto is “Death is not denied, but life is affirmed and lived until death comes,” provided end-of-life care and comfort to almost 2,000 people last year. Still, Parkinson says, many people who cannot be cared for in their own homes are left with no other option than to spend the end of their lives in hospitals or nursing homes.

The Hospice House, which aims to provide a home-like atmosphere by allowing patients to control their own living environment, will be the first of its kind on the Seacoast.

Unlike most nursing homes and hospitals, for example, patients will be able to control the heat and light in their own rooms. Pets are welcome to visit, too, which for some people with no local family and friends can make the difference between happiness and despair.

Parkinson says there are similar facilities in Merrimack and Concord, which some patients from the Seacoast choose to use. However, the distance can be prohibitive, and space is limited—the Merrimack and Concord facilities have only 10 beds each. The Hyder Family Hospice House will have 14 beds. Parkinson expects the facility to service around 225 patients per year, with an option to build another seven-bed wing if demand increases.

The Hospice House project has been in development since 2001, when Wendy Desmond, who was on the Seacoast Hospice board of directors, passed away and left her life insurance to the organization. The $125,000 donation, which was matched by her employer, Tyco, helped the Seacoast Hospice staff jumpstart the project, which is projected to cost almost $5 million by the time the House opens in 2007.
Once running, Seacoast Hospice will be able to finance the House from its own endowment, but Parkinson expects that it will be self-sustaining within about two years through a combination of donations and fund-raising events.

When asked about the services that will be provided by the Hospice House, Parkinson cited skilled medical and palliative care as the essentials.

The goal of the House is not to prevent or prolong death, but to ensure that patients can live as contentedly as possible during their remaining time. To that end, Parkinson says, “Depending on the patient’s ability to get up and go around, there are beautiful gardens, and the Cochecho River is right behind the building. In the House there’s ample opportunity to do various things, depending on how the patient feels. There will be a dining room and a kitchen with food 24 hours a day, for family members as well.”

To date, Seacoast Hospice has raised over $3.7 million toward the project. One million of that came from Portsmouth’s Hyder family; another $1.2 million came from Exeter Hospital, Frisbie Memorial Hospital, Wentworth Douglass and Portsmouth Regional Hospital combined. The rest has accumulated from a number of unnamed private donations.

Tom Kline, who was married to Wendy Desmond before she died, has organized a benefit concert on Wednesday, April 5 at 7 p.m. at the Thomas J. Meehan Center in Stratham. Jim Lauderdale, a Grammy award-winning artist who has written lyrics for Jerry Garcia, will be playing the concert. Tickets are $20 for general seating, and all proceeds will be donated to the Hyder Family Hospice House.

If you can’t make the concert but want to help out, Parkinson suggests sending donations directly to Seacoast Hospice at 10 Hampton Road, Exeter, NH 03833.