Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice to break ground on facility

Newton — Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, a leader in the hospice movement for over 30 years, will once again be breaking ground on a new element in end-of-life care. The hospice currently serves patients in homes, nursing home facilities, hospitals or wherever a patient calls home in two states, NJ and PA; so it was a natural next step to take the lead in providing a hospice home for the area. The vision behind the creation of the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice is to develop a residence for long- or short-term care for patients facing end of life when home care is no longer an option for the family. The residence will be staffed with professional medical personnel and assistants and will gain in distinction with the principle that family and friends will have right of entry to their loved ones just as they would in their own homes. For the patients, it will be their home where they can be surrounded by their loved ones with all the comforts of a home-like environment. Until now there is no other residency that currently meets those criteria in the immediate area. This year the Karen Ann Quinlan Charitable Foundation is planning to break ground on nine acres that has been offered by the Waterwheel Farm in Fredon Township. The $5 million, 10,000 square foot project will include 10 patient beds, ample space for round-the-clock family visitations, two sitting rooms, a meditation room and a family kitchen all with a view looking out at the Kittatinny Ridge Mountains. The Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice will also provide respite patient duty for the caregiver who needs to take that much-needed break or time off from the seemingly endless days of responsibility and support of their loved one. “Our hospice home will provide a complete continuum of care in a serene surrounding which will encourage dignity and hope to all its residents," said Julia Quinlan, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice co-founder, Chairman of The Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice and mother of Karen Ann. It is estimated that the doors to the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice will open in the spring or summer of 2013. “The Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice is the culmination of many years of working and planning to realize a full service hospice for our fine community. As one of two surviving founding Board members, I am delighted to be here to see this project finally completed,” said Lucian Fletcher, Jr. MD.