This could be the first hospice house in Horry County
The first hospice house in Horry County could be open to patients within a month.
Hospices are open to terminally ill patients at the end of their life.
“Without having a hospice house, patients with those intense needs end up in a hospital setting or a nursing home setting,” said Embrace Hospice House vice president Charlene Hope. “Hospice houses want to make them feel comfortable and increase their quality of life.”
It might be as simple as a volunteer to come and sit with a patient if they have no family so they don’t die alone.
Charlene Hope
Embrace Hospice House vice presidentThe 36-bed Embrace Hospice is located on Village Center Boulevard in Carolina Forest.
About 24 beds will be used for residential hospice care, according to Hope. Residential care involves patients who will reside at the house for the remainder of their lives.
The 17,000-square foot facility provides semi-private rooms with televisions and a large common area with tables and another television, Hope said. There’s also a chapel and garden overlooking a pond.
There are three other hospice services in Horry County, according to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesman Robert Yanity. But they’re all outpatient facilities that offer care for patients in their homes, hospitals or nursing homes while a hospice house offers hospice services in a dedicated facility.
Without having a hospice house, patients with those intense needs end up in a hospital setting or a nursing home setting.
Charlene Hope
Embrace Hospice House vice presidentHospital and nursing home staff aren’t trained to provide end-of-life services, said Hope, who added that hospices serve medical needs as well as spiritual and emotional needs.
“It might be as simple as a volunteer to come and sit with a patient if they have no family so they don’t die alone,” she said.
Embrace Hospice’s license is still pending, said South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesman Robert Yanity. But he confirmed that if approved, the facilities would be the first licensed hospice facility in the county.
The hospice expects to open to patients at the end of July and bring almost 50 jobs to Carolina Forest.
Christian Boschult: 843-626-0218, @TSN_Christian
This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 5:28 PM with the headline "This could be the first hospice house in Horry County."