Texarkana, Ark. — Caring for a dying loved one can be difficult, especially if the setting is a hospital.
For the first time in Texarkana, a center is trying to change the experience for area families.
Friday morning was a time for celebration and remembrance at Twin Cities Inpatient Hospice Alliance on Elizabeth Street. The facility, with Heritage Home Hospice as its parent agency, is the cities' first inpatient Hospice care center.
"This is more inviting and doesn't restrict visitors. We wanted it to be more like home as possible, so when families do come, they will feel as comfortable as possible under the circumstances," said registered nurse Whitney Lindsey, director of clinical services.
The inpatient hospice, which is supported by area hospice agencies, is mainly for symptom management — caring for patients with symptoms that can be documented, such as severe pain or respiratory distress.
The center is staffed around the clock.
The nearest facilities similar to Twin Cities Inpatient Hospice are about an hour from Texarkana.
The feeling of home is carried throughout the center, which opened Sept. 1. The 10 bedrooms look like personal bedrooms. Love seats and cozy chairs surround a standard hospital bed that is covered with comforters.
The center also has a great room and a family/private dining room.
A small chapel at the center of the facility was dedicated Friday to the center's first patient, J.D. Walbeck. Walbeck was 54 when he died of prostate cancer Oct. 26.
"This is more inviting and doesn't restrict visitors. We wanted it to be more like home as possible, so when families do come, they will feel as comfortable as possible under the circumstances," said registered nurse Whitney Lindsey, director of clinical services.
Walbeck was retired from Kansas City Southern railroad. His cancer was discovered during a routine work physical.
"Within a year, he and the cancer had gotten so bad; it spread to his bones. He had chemotherapy and other treatments," said brother Scottie, his voice trailing.
Scottie, parents James and Louise, sister Janet and other family members and close friends attended the dedication.
"Words cannot express how honored we are to have you here," Lindsey said. "You trusted us to care for him, and we felt because you allowed us to be a part of your lives, we wanted to dedicate the chapel to him and to a very loving and godly family."
While chapels often look more like places of worship, featuring pews or benches, this chapel looks like a small living room. Stuffed chairs and a love seat fill the room, with Bible verse plaques adorning the walls.
As part of the dedication, Jeff Taylor, chaplain at the hospice center, spoke to the family.
"This chapel will bring happiness and comfort to all who pass by," he said. "With it being in the center of the facility, it is no coincidence. It's a reminder that God is the center of this facility."
"This center understood how high J.D.'s pain level was and how important it was to manage it. He was a people-pleaser and a family man. He was telling us all it would be OK," Scottie said. "I never thought something like this would happen. When he was at a hospital, he was a patient. Here, he and the rest of us were a lot more. We were family, like one of their own. Words cannot describe how they cared for my brother and for all patients. It's amazing."
The center has left an indelible impression on Walbeck's father, James.
"I didn't know there were people like this left in this world."
Information from: Texarkana Gazette, Texarkanagazette.com">http://www.Texarkanagazette.com
Story Tags: Health / Medical, pain, Scottie, Janet, Whitney Lindsey, J.D. Walbeck, Jeff Taylor, James , Heritage Home Hospice, Twin Cities Inpatient Hospice, Louise, Twin Cities Inpatient Hospice Alliance on Elizabeth Street, Hospice
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