A New Campaign for Comfort & Care
When Hospice & Palliative Care of Northeastern Illinois (HPNI) opened its Woodstock Inpatient Unit in September, 2007, it was the only unit of its kind in McHenry County and the first unit operated by the nonprofit agency.
Today, after caring for more than 700 patients and their family members at the Woodstock facility over nearly 4 years,
and opening a second unit in Barrington, HPNI has decided it’s time to refurbish. Located within the Centegra Specialty Hospital–Woodstock, at 527 South St., the unit currently features seven private patient rooms, a family room, quite mediation room, kitchen, and meeting rooms.
“We have learned a great deal about hosting families while caring for our patients since we first opened in 2007, which has made us realize we need to enhance the facility,” said Betty McKillip, a former board member, nurse, current volunteer, as
well as a member of HPNI’s McHenry County Advisory Council. “In order to do it right, we’ve embarked on the Campaign for Comfort and Care 2011, a capital campaign to raise $300,000 to cover the costs of all enhancements.”
Among the plans for the unit are:
• reconfigure the reception area for better patient communication and family/nurse interactions
• redesign and update patient rooms to include sleeper sofas for family overnight comfort, under counter refrigerators, wall-mounted televisions, DVD players, new window treatments, decorative bed linens and newly painted walls with warm homelike colors
• reconfigure and upgrade the family room and family kitchen area to be adjacent with each other and feature more comfortable seating, an enhanced children’s play area and new kitchen amenities
• design a patient spa room that includes a therapy tub
• Enhance the entry and common areas with new signage, cohesive artwork and upgraded lighting and sound systems.
“The overall goal of this project is to create a warm, inviting, homelike environment for our patients and their family members,” said Marjorie Pullinger, HPNI director of facilities, “to help improve their quality of time spent in the unit, and allow families and friends to comfortably stay with their loved one as if they were in a second home.”
Donations of all amounts are gratefully accepted; however, for those interested in making substantial gifts, the campaign features various giving levels including:
Gifts of Vision – $25,000 or more
Gifts of Hope – $10,000
Gifts of Comfort – $5,000
Gifts of Care – $2,500
Gifts of Support – $1,000
All donors will be recognized on a Donor Wall within the unit, unless the donor wishes to remain anonymous.
For more information about the campaign, visit our website at hospiceanswers.org/ways-to-give/leadership-giving-2, or contact Donna Kassens, Senior Development Officer, at dkassens@HospiceAnswers.org or 224-770-2411.
