Why Build, Why Now?

Why Build, Why Now?

Like the rest of the nation, our region stands on the threshold of an aging boom, and demand for hospice services is higher than ever. Currently, Hospice of the Red River Valley serves more than 400 hospice patients every day.

According to the National Hospice Foundation of America, more than 10,000 people are turning 65 years of age every day.

With an already sizable elderly population within our service area, the need for end-of-life care is expected to continue to grow significantly.

To see this unmet need come to fruition has been our dream for more than a decade. Now is finally the right time to make the dream of building a Hospice House a reality.

Hospice of the Red River Valley has developed short- and long-term strategic plans to plan for this growth through a comprehensive, community-led process.

First, the organization interviewed and polled a wide array of stakeholder groups, including donors, clergy, families served, referral sources, business leaders, physicians and volunteers.

Then the board of directors and staff conducted a comprehensive review of community needs and growth trends to determine the future direction of the organization.

This comprehensive planning effort led to the decision to build a Hospice House in Fargo, along with other key organizational objectives and initiatives that will ensure the organization continues to meet the community’s end-of-life needs.

A Hospice House for the Region

Hospice of the Red River Valley continues to see an increasing number of patients who have:

  • Uncontrolled pain or other discomfort that has not responded to home hospice interventions, so a more intensive pain management approach is needed.
  • A spouse or other primary caregiver who is too ill, frail, exhausted or weak to continue to care for their loved one in their home.
  • No willing family caregivers nearby, or caregivers who have used up their family medical leave.
  • Complex skilled-care needs that require additional resources and equipment than what is available in their current setting.
  • The desire to spend significant, unstructured time with their large family that cannot be accommodated by traditional residential and medical facilities.
  • A preference that death occur in a setting other than their home if there is an emotionally fragile child, spouse or household member or family dynamic that would be impacted.

We believe these patients should not have to sacrifice their heartfelt wish to share their final moments with their family in a relaxed, home-like setting. But a Hospice House does not currently exist in North Dakota, or within Hospice of the Red River Valley’s service area.

Our region needs to be able to provide around-the-clock, expert comfort care in a home environment that supports the physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of life-limited patients and their families.