Dedicated hospice facility to break ground
courtesy photo
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
MISSOULA — A new hospice facility that will service Missoula and surrounding counties, including Lake County, is approaching its fundraising goal and will soon see construction get underway.
The Partners Hope Foundation got its start in 2019. A group of community members were concerned by the lack of a dedicated hospice facility in western Montana, as currently the closest Hospice facility is in Great Falls. According to Executive Director Amanda Melro, the group has been working behind the scenes for the last few years, putting together a board and steering committee and developing an operational partnership with Partners in Home Care.
“This is truly a grassroots community project,” Melro said. “This is not from some big organization or government funded program or anything, this has really come from generous donations and time from local community members. So that’s been pretty impressive to see.”
The organization has decided to go public at this point because they’ve already managed to meet 81% of their fundraising goal: a total of $12.5 million. With only $2.9 million left to raise, Partners Hope is growing close to finishing out their campaign. They plan to break ground on their facility in early summer.
What got the project started was the realization that many members of the community weren’t having a quality end of life. While there are several quality home care hospice organizations around, as well as good hospitals, Melro explained that sometimes those options just aren’t feasible for some people.
“Montana is such a vast state, and so many Montanans live alone or in rural areas, so it really became apparent that most of those people, when they’re not able to receive in home care or maybe when dying at home is not an option, they usually end up in the hospital for their final days. So, we’re just really looking at building a facility for that quality end of life care,” Melro stated. “We believe that the end of life is as important a life event as birth, so we want to create a safe space for people to come and spend their days out, and where family can come and go (without visiting hours) and stay if they want to stay with them.”
Additionally, the foundation aims to treat the facility as a resource center. Teaming up with organizations such as Tamarack Grief Resource, Missoula Aging Services, and All Nations Health Center, Melro explained that Partners Hope sees the facility as being a center where people can learn about advanced care planning, end of life planning, and grief and loss in general. The facility will also provide education about what hospice care is and when it might be appropriate. They also want to prioritize servicing underserved groups such as veterans and indigenous populations.
“We’re not trying to reinvent what’s going on in the community,” Melro commented. “There’s so many great resources here, so we want to collaborate and bring all those together.”
The project’s website, PartnersHopeFoundation.org, as well as their fundraising campaign website, EmbraceEndofLife.org, contain ample information on the project, the organization’s mission, as well as renders of the future facility. Partners Hope will service all Partners in Home Care regions around Missoula, as well as anyone further out who wishes to travel there.
“We’re really trying to take this time to thank everybody and let them know that we’re just so excited and honored from their continued support,” Melro said. “We have had over 400+ donors, individuals, businesses, foundations, give their time and energy and resources to this project.” Melro commented that raising $12.5 million is a massive undertaking and they are confident that the last 2.9M will be raised with the community’s backing. She emphasized that “(The contributors) own this project just as much as we do.”
