EVERETT — Plans for a $10 million inpatient hospice center, the first to be opened in Snohomish County, have been scuttled by the economic downturn.
In December, Providence Hospice and Homecare of Snohomish County was on the verge of buying a 2-acre site in south Everett, said Paula Beatty, the hospice organization’s executive director. The goal was to open a new 20-bed hospice center in 2010.
But Providence Health and Services, the parent organization for both the hospice organization and Everett’s hospital, was forced to halt the building plans, said Dan Harris, a regional chief financial officer.
The slumping stock market had been a concern all year, he said. In November, as the tailspin continued, the organization realized “we had to do some serious cutting on plans,” he said.
The hospice house project was one of four major projects in Washington and Montana that were cut, he said.
However, the cuts made by the organization will allow another major building project in Snohomish County, the $500 million new hospital building being constructed at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, to continue as planned, Harris said.
Even if the stock market steadies over the next 12 to 18 months, the hospice house will have to battle for money among a big backlog of projects also put on hold, Harris said.
The decision to halt the hospice project was disappointing because of the ongoing need for inpatient hospice services, Beatty said.
The hospice service assists approximately 1,700 patients each year, said Joni Copeland, director of business development for the hospice organization.
The patients range in age from infants to adults, with services provided to people living in Snohomish County and on Camano Island.
These services will continue as now provided. Currently, patients are treated either in their home or are admitted to area hospitals or other health-care facilities.
The hospice organization, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, first began discussing the possibility of building a hospice center 18 years ago, Beatty said.
The project was launched during a celebration of its 25th anniversary. Sister Georgette Bayless, one of the founders of the current hospice service in Snohomish County, announced the goal of opening an inpatient hospice center.
The plan was to build a 20-room facility that would care for adults and children with terminal disease who were too ill to be treated at home.
Property in south Everett had been identified as the prime site for the hospice center, Beatty said.
The organization had nearly $2 million in donations for the project and had hoped to raise $3.5 million, she said.
“It’s still a dream that we have,” Beatty said. “We’re not letting that dream go.”
Providence Hospice and Homecare of Snohomish County has 234 employees. The nearest inpatient hospice service is in Kirkland, part of Evergreen Hospice.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com
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