Building purchased for new Hospice House
Circle of Life Hospice announced the purchase of a building that will serve as the location for a Hospice House in southern Iowa.
Board President Don Hayes along with board member Emery McDonald presented a check to The South Iowa Area Detention Service Agency on June 12 to make the purchase of the former Chariton Juvenile Detention Center official.
“This is a great day for southern Iowa communities as it solidifies the plans to build a first class Hospice House in an area that desperately needs one,” said McDonald. “The Hospice House will be a huge blessing to families who use it for years to come.”
The detention center, located just off Highway 34 at 220 Northwestern Ave., is a brick building consisting of nearly 12,000 square feet and is set on 6.8 acres of land.
The purchase of this building changes the plans slightly as far as the location of the Hospice House, but not the overall plans and necessity for it.
Circle of Life Hospice could potentially save up to $200,000 in project costs and the new house will have double the square footage of the original plans.
The extra space will create a better atmosphere for clients and their families by making them more comfortable. The extra room will also enable Circle of Life to move office staff and day-to-day hospice operations to this building and have everything under one roof.
Most of the construction work will be done inside the building, allowing work to be done all year long, regardless of the weather. Construction time will be cut dramatically compared to building a whole new structure.
The 6.8 acres surrounding the building keeps occupants from being “land locked” as they would have with the original plans.
With the purchase finalized, Circle of Life is moving on to the next phase of their project, which is the design phase. They have hired Ed Kyker of Kyker Johnson Architecture of Des Moines to form the design plans for the hospice house.
Kyker said he is excited about the potential of this building and will have plans drawn up in the next few weeks.
The date for the opening of the hospice house is Spring of 2010.
Circle of Life was able to pay for the building and still have some funds left for construction thanks to the generosity of many who gave to the Legacy Campaign.
The funds left are not enough to cover all of the building expenses and the Circle of Life is asking for more donations.
To find out more about the Legacy Campaign, why this facility is needed and to see current fundraising progress visit www.legacycampaign.org.
