A Need for Hospice Care

Written By: - NONE - | Issue: 2016/09 - September

Forty-five percent of the population on the Plateau, or 3,412 individuals, are age 60 or over.  This speaks volumes to the need for medical services tailored to the final years of life, yet there are no hospice inpatient facilities (hospice houses) in the far western region of North Carolina.  

The closest hospice houses are in Clyde, Flat Rock, and Asheville, North Carolina; and Seneca, South Carolina – over an hour’s drive for the majority of people in Cashiers and Highlands.  This long distance often results in hospice patients and their families choosing a hospital or nursing home for end-of-life inpatient care – neither of which provide the ideal setting nor the type of care for life’s final journey.

Hospice House Foundation of WNC is endeavoring to bring a hospice house to Franklin.  The facility will serve the counties of Macon, Jackson, Swain, Graham, Clay, and Cherokee, as well as northeast Georgia.  Fundraising for this $5.2 million project is well under way, and close to $1.2 million has been raised with an additional $1.3 million in challenge grants having been pledged.

On Wednesday, September 28, Paoletti’s Restaurant in Highlands will again host Peaceful Journey, a charity dining event in support of Hospice House Foundation of WNC.  Patrons will indulge in a decadent four-course menu and wine pairings specially selected for the event.  The evening will be complemented by music and accompanied by a silent auction of fabulous items, including assortments of distinguished wines. 

Tickets are $300 – early reservations are suggested as seating is limited, so call (828) 526-4906. 

Last’s year’s inaugural dining event was extraordinarily successful, netting close to $175,000!  Arthur Paoletti, co-owner of Paoletti’s Restaurant and board member of Hospice House Foundation of WNC, said he was “overwhelmingly honored and pleased with the outpouring of support from restaurant and event patrons.”  

Paoletti shared that his passion for the Hospice House Foundation of WNC initiative comes from having lost his mother; seeing and experiencing the compassion and comforting care of hospice, which helped to make her final journey one of peace and dignity. Arthur imagined that support from the Plateau could conceivably allow construction of the proposed Hospice House to start immediately.  

For information about the Hospice House Foundation of WNC or to make a donation, contact the Foundation’s President, Michele Alderson, at (828) 524-6375.  Make checks payable to: Hospice House Foundation of WNC, P.O. Box 815, Franklin, NC 28744.  Hospice House Foundation of WNC, Inc. is a not for profit, 501(c)3; donations are entirely tax deductible.