April 2020
Welcome to Our New Monthly Newsletter
Since the closure of Hopewell House in September, 2019, Friends of Hopewell House has met nearly weekly. More than 2,000 have joined our list to share ideas and support. This new monthly newsletter will keep you abreast of our progress. During this time of physical distancing, it will serve as a forum for you to share your experiences of and aspirations for Hopewell House, and offer ways for you to help achieve our shared goal. Please forward this newsletter to interested friends and colleagues who can join our email list here .
Friends of Hopewell House Working Group Update
A Message from Joan Buell
If you are receiving this first edition of the Hopewell House newsletter, it is likely because you are among the 2,000+ kind people who contacted us with your concerns following Legacy Health’s decision to close the in-patient hospice last September.

Much has happened since then...and continues to happen. Friends of Hopewell House (FHH) was immediately formed in response to Legacy’s announcement. We have organized as an Oregon corporation and are awaiting finalization of our non-profit status from the IRS.

We are in constructive on-going discussions with Legacy Health about the future use of the House. The current coronavirus crisis understandably slowed those discussions. In the meantime, Legacy uses the building for home hospice administration, bereavement support, and home hospice volunteer coordination. Our hearts are with everyone at Legacy and all the hard working people in all our health and hospice systems right now.

Committed to a future for Hopewell House Hospice – preferably in its previous idyllic location, but, if need be, elsewhere in Portland – our Working Group has met nearly every Saturday morning since the closure. Approximately 20 regularly attend, including past staff, volunteers, friends, family members of patients, and community leaders and experts from various fields.

We explore clinical models, financial issues, future staffing, necessary credentials and a host of other topics. We are studying other hospice programs locally and around the country in an effort to find a new in-patient hospice model that is both financially viable yet true to Hopewell House’s history and commitment to serving patients, their families and friends in home-like setting . Our search has taken us to 12 other programs, some as far away as Dayton, Ohio and Tulsa, Oklahoma and others as close as Medford, Albany, Longview, and Vancouver.

We look forward to sharing the results of our research with you in the coming months, and to hearing more of your Hopewell House stories and ideas about what's needed .

Thank you for your caring and support. And for those new to Hopewell House, welcome. We hope you too will become part of our story and our future.

Joan Buell
Hopewell House Founder
Friends of Hopewell House President
" A Hopewell House Moment I Treasure"
Christine responded to our call for Hopewell House memories.
"My mother spent her last days at Hopewell House; she was dying of lung cancer. My concern was for her comfort as she prepared to leave this world. The care of the nurses and other staff enabled me to just spend time with her, without the worry of caring for her needs. They were a wonderful resource to answer my questions. Being there helped the focus be on her. I was able to sit with my mother and sing her all the songs she used to sing to me when I was a child. It was a wonderful moment, one I treasure the most of her time at Hopewell House.

"At a time when we were exhausted and distressed, Hopewell House was a God-send to me and my family. "
~ From Christine M Reed. Share your story.
Monthly Question: Share Your Thoughts
Click here to respond to this month's question or join the discussion on Facebook .
Each month we'll pose a question through our newsletter and on our Facebook page . Your input will help shape the vision, program model, and services currently in development.

How has the COVID-19 crisis shaped your understanding about the needs of dying people and their families?
How should the pandemic inform our vision and design of programs and services? Respond here.
In the News
"Hopewell House hospice has closed. You should care about that."
"Communities can... rebuild caring continuums through a combination
of community action, philanthropy, and local politics."

Last November, nationally renowned palliative care physicians Eric Walsh and Ira Byock published an opinion piece in the online health and medical journal STAT , excerpted here:

"Hopewell House, an inpatient hospice facility in Portland, Ore., has closed its doors. Should anyone care beyond the families of the thousands of people who would have died badly had it not been for Hopewell House? We believe that everyone should care, because its closing highlights a chasm in the continuum of health services needed to prevent people from suffering needlessly before dying.

"...Communities can take ownership of this problem. Baby boomers, in partnership with their children’s generations, the Gen Xers and millennials, can rebuild caring continuums through a combination of community action, philanthropy, and local politics."

About Friends of Hopewell House
Friends of Hopewell House is an independent, community-based effort working to restore high quality inpatient hospice care to Portland, Oregon, ideally at Hopewell House. Registered with the State of Oregon as a charitable organization and awaiting non-profit status from the IRS, we accept donations through the Oregon Community Foundation. Inquiries are welcome through Inquiries@FHHpdx.org.