Long-awaited hospice facility in Bedford breaks ground

BEDFORD — A long-awaited community vision of building a hospice in Bedford collided with cold, stiff county dirt Saturday after several years of planning and fundraising.

Bedford Hospice House Inc., a nonprofit, broke ground on a four-room residential facility for end-of-life hospice care called Bedford House. A group of about 50 people, including Bedford city and county officials, gathered on the single acre on Falling Creek Road just south of the city of Bedford where it will locate to mark the occasion.

Inside the much warmer Bedford Group Homes gymnasium next door, organizers joked it was “probably the coldest groundbreaking in history.”

Since 2006, the nonprofit embarked on a capital fundraising campaign to reach a goal of $1.6 million, which was met last year through donations from local and state government, individuals and philanthropic organizations.

Michael Cross, co-chair of its publicity committee, said the campaign’s success through “superhuman” efforts does not mean the end of its fundraising.

“Our efforts, however, have switched to raising money to endow Bedford House with enough funds to guarantee its effective work for years to come,” Cross said, adding its endowment campaign has already raised $167,000.

The Bedford County Board of Supervisors in 2009 approved leasing the land to the group and also amended zoning to allow its operation. Cross said the lease is “initially” for 25 years at a rate of $1 a year and could be renewed.

Roger Cheek, the supervisor who represents the district where it will locate, said the board decided the project is “a much needed facility.” He said the group’s fundraising achievements during a time when the economy took a turn for the worse was impressive.

“My hat’s off to you for that,” Cheek said during the ceremony. “The fact that you reached your goal shows the dedication you have.”

Tom Messier, a former Bedford mayor who co-chaired the capital campaign, said the enthusiasm behind it was “contagious.” Messier praised the efforts of Jacqueline Wente, its president, who did not attend Saturday due to family commitments, and named many others who were involved. It was “a joint effort,” he said, and not the work of any one individual in moving it

forward.

The facility is for patients who live within 50 miles and are referred by their doctors, Cross said. It would have qualified nursing staff 24 hours a day and is meant to produce a “homelike” atmosphere to comfort those nearing death.

“Projects like this never happen without extraordinary leadership from ordinary people, said state Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg.

Newman called the project “unique” to the area and said he understands there are fewer than 10 of these types of facilities throughout the commonwealth.

“We’re a little behind but, I think, Bedford is helping us catch up,” Newman said.

Cross said if weather permits, the facility is hopeful to admit its first patient by the end of 2010. He said patients would not be turned away for financial reasons.

Chris Barrett of Resurrection Catholic Church in Moneta, who gave a benediction, said the facility’s purpose is “not just changing lives, it’s changing deaths.”

“It’s changing the way we die,” he said, “and giving us so much comfort and consolation and dignity in the process.”