The mural depicting animals of all shapes and sizes parading up and into the safe haven of Noah’s Ark is the first thing one sees when entering Vermont Respite House. The significance cannot be lost upon even the most jaded of visitors to this Williston house of refuge, comfort and respite.

The idea for Vermont Respite House started in 1991 when a group of 14 private citizens envisioned the need for a place that was not a hospital, a nursing home or an institution but where persons, too ill to be cared for in their homes, could spend their last six months of life in peace and comfort cared for by persons trained in the Hospice tradition.

The modern Hospice Movement had begun three decades earlier when English Physician Dame Cicely Saunders recognized the need for terminally-ill persons to be under the care of human beings who were understanding and compassionate. In 1964 Dr. Saunders established the first modern hospice in London, England, St. Christopher’s Hospice.

Photo courtesy of Daria Bishop.

In Vermont, the group of 14 talked to potential donors, corporations and interested persons to interest them and help establish a refuge where the dying could spend their final days in a homelike setting surrounded by family and friends.

A brief walk through Respite House including a peek into an unoccupied resident room—named for an animal—immediately puts the visitor at ease. In the giraffe room large windows bring in the outdoor light and a close-up view of the antics of the birds at the feeders placed strategically so residents won’t miss the birds’ comings and goings.

“We have the fattest birds around, I suspect,” jokes Sharon Keegan, Respite House Administrator. “The residents (never called patients) like the birds and animals in general which is why each room is named after an animal. Some residents, unable to part from their favorite pet, bring them with them. Respite House is very much a home and residents have full run of the place. Visitors are welcome at any time.”

First US House

The first Respite House in the United States was built in Branford, Connecticut in 1974 and was modeled after Dr. Saunders’ St. Christopher’s Hospice. The Branford House was founded by Florence Wald, a former Dean of Nursing at Yale University. At the same time, the idea was brought to Canada by Dr. Balfour Mount, who spearheaded the move to open a hospice unit in Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital. Both Wald and Mount studied the hospice model under Dr. Saunders.

Vermont Respite House’s operation is under the supervision of Ms. Keegan who trained originally as a social worker. “I started working with the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) as a Hospice Chaplain then moved to Respite House,” she said. She has been there for six years.

“This is a place of living and laughter. We joke a lot and we welcome all visitors, grandchildren included, as we would were they visiting a private home. It’s a privilege to support the family and residents and give the best of human care to the dying,” Ms. Keegan explains. “We honor the individuality of each resident. I remember the two residents who briefly became friends. Often family members of the residents become friends—even after a loved one has passed.”

“The J. Warren and Lois McClure Vermont Respite House in Williston is the only such haven in Vermont, although there are three similar houses in New York and six in Massachusetts,” according to Ann Irwin of the VNA Public Relations office headquartered in Colchester, Vermont. “The House was brought under the VNA umbrella in 1997 and is one of many programs the VNA operates which serve the Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties.”

Medicare-certified in April of 2006, Respite House takes in residents from all parts of Vermont and occasionally, when a resident has close Vermont relatives, he or she can become a resident. Medicare pays for resident services but not for their room and board. That payment obligation is worked out on a sliding scale determined by the administration but no one is refused admission based on financial ability.

Every resident also may continue care under their primary physician. For residents’ comfort and care, trained RNs are on staff around the clock and there are over 100 volunteers who help with the day-to-day operation of the House either in the kitchen, the office or in housekeeping.

Community Connections

Vermont Respite House is not a place of isolation. Clergy, doctors, other healthcare providers and volunteers visit on a regular basis. Aside from the persons who deliver services directly to the House residents, the community connection is both strong and necessary to continue the programs at Vermont Respite House.

Holidays and feast days are recognized and celebrated. One year the House held an outdoor Easter Egg Hunt for visiting children. Even Baptisms have been held at the House. Often grateful relatives of a former resident return to volunteer at the House.

The joyful sound of singing is one such gift that hospice-trained volunteers bring to the House as the “Noyana Singers.” (“Noyana” is an African word meaning “We are going there”.) The group gathers at the house to sing all kinds of songs from folk to spirituals, hymns and especially requests for old-time tunes from various cultures. (They also sing at nursing homes, private homes and for other groups.) This voluntary service of devotion is most welcome among the residents.

Recently, a former resident’s daughter wrote, “The Noyana Singers made a remarkable impact on my Mom… I witnessed grace flow from the singers’ voices into my mother’s soul… I thank each and every singer from the bottom of my heart.”

Another event that constitutes a lifeline between the House and the community is the one weekend stay at Camp “Knock Knock” now in its 12th year. Held on the site of the YMCA summer camp, Camp Abnaki, this weekend is a place for the bereaved and grieving to gather for communal comfort.

Then there is the annual fundraiser known as the “Jiggety Jog,” a 5k Fun Run which begins and ends at Williston’s Allen Brook School and attracts over 300 runners. When possible, the Respite House residents are brought to the school to cheer the runners. Last year over $53,000 dollars was raised. This year the run will be held on May 9.

On the practical side, various volunteer community groups and churches and service organizations sponsor and furnish resident rooms or replace equipment which has ceased to work. Each May and September, two sisters in Hinesburg hold a huge garage sale to earn money to assist the house with replacement of equipment or purchase of new furnishings for the House or for whatever the need. It is their way of saying thanks for the care and comfort their relative received while a resident at the House.

An annual Ceremony of Remembrance and Memorial Tree Lighting will be held January11 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Williston Federated Church. This gives relatives and friends a chance to honor and remember a loved one. In addition, the attending community is invited to purchase a bulb for the tree to bring light to the darkest month of the year. Following the ceremony, all are invited to return to Respite House and enjoy the hospitality of the volunteers, the staff and the residents.

In the spirit of compassion, folks who have experienced the loss of a loved one or friend at Respite House are not abandoned but are kept contacted for a year following a loved one’s death. Finally, a bereavement group meets bi-weekly for bereavement care and comfort on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at Fanny Allen Hospital under the PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) Program. Anyone in the community may join the group.

Hospice Documentary

The care and comfort of the dying has been the focus of an initiative begun under the VNA entitled the “Madison-Deane Initiative.” It is named after two doctors, both deceased, who were interested in the education of persons to the hospice movement. The doctors’ families wanted to continue their loved ones’ work and, funded by the VNA, community organizations and private donors, produced a film that, in October 2004, tied for the first place prize given by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

This documentary, entitled “Pioneers of Hospice: Changing the Face of Dying,” directed by Terrence Youk, is shown at organization and interested group meetings. Often the film presentation is supplemented with a speaker who will discuss any related topic.

Finally, the words of hospice pioneer Dame Cicely Saunders, MD, still ring true: “You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but also to help you live until you die.”

To learn more about Hospice and Vermont Respite House call 879-0943 or take a virtual tour at a href=”http://www.vnacares.org” target=”_blank”>www.vnacares.org.

Margery Sharp is a freelance writer. She lives in Hinesburg.