Artistic rendering
It will have private rooms large enough to accommodate several family members. It will have a chapel, a kitchen, and a serene outdoor garden area just beyond the back door. It will look less like a healthcare facility and more like a lodge, with inviting wood and stone accents. And it will help Hosparus Health provide end-of-life care to the residents of greater Louisville like never before.
That’s the vision for the Hosparus Health Inpatient Hospice Care Center, a 21-bed facility to be located on Ephriam McDowell Drive in Louisville. It’s the third project in Hosparus Health’s “Places of Compassion” initiative, a campaign designed to modernize the hospice provider in anticipation of future needs. Hosparus Health is seeking community support to help make it a reality.
“It’s the last leg—the culmination of the gratitude and generosity of our community,” said Tawanda Owsley, senior vice president and chief development officer at Hosparus Health. “Healthcare evolves constantly, and we’ve discovered that modern, innovative environments are crucial for delivering effective services and care. So, we’re creating a new facility that feels more like a home away from home for those last moments of life.”
While Hosparus Health is a nonprofit that is reimbursed by Medicare and Medicaid for its services, those reimbursements do not cover facility construction. “We rely on private philanthropy to make that happen,” Owsley said. The organization has a goal to raise $9.2 million before the Inpatient Care Center’s groundbreaking on Sept. 16, and $13 million total to fully fund the project.
Providing for residents and families
Many other communities already have a dedicated inpatient hospice facility, Owsley explained, which means greater Louisville is playing catch-up. Hosparus Health currently operates an inpatient unit on the sixth floor of the Norton Healthcare Pavilion, but the space was never designed for end-of-life care and downtown Louisville access can be challenging for some families during an emotionally difficult time.
“Norton Healthcare has been an amazing partner for many years, but the space that we're using was originally a hospital room. It was never designed to provide inpatient care to hospice patients,” Owsley said. “Currently, the floor has only one shower that all the patients and their families must share. We need bigger rooms, so loved ones can gather during those sacred moments. This new facility will be a state-of-the-art, modernized, and purpose-built.”
The new single-level Hospice Care Center will have spacious private rooms with their own shower, ample free parking, and a great room where family members can gather. It will have a kitchen so family members who don’t want to leave a loved one can prepare food, and so volunteers or community groups can provide meals. The center includes private consultation rooms where physicians can have sensitive conversations with families, and an accessible outdoor garden area with wide doors that allow patients to be wheeled outside.
Many of these features were inspired directly by families’ feedback, Owsley said. “You would be surprised at how often we hear about the need for outdoor space,” she added. “People just want to take their loved ones outside for some fresh air. There will be seating for families to reflect or take a walk together. It's such a hard time for many families, and these small touches really matter.”
Making an immediate impact
Hosparus Health launched Places of Compassion three years ago, in anticipation of the aging Baby Boomer population. The first project was the William B. and Janet B. Schmidt PACE Center (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) in Elizabethtown, which opened its doors in March 2024. The second was the Harshaw Family Grief Counseling Center in Louisville, completed last year.
Both facilities have made an immediate impact, Owsley said. “With our PACE Center, participants love the socialization and the activities, but also the high-quality care that they’re receiving,” she added. “And our grief counselors have seen a huge uptick in the number of sessions. The Harshaw Family Grief Counseling Center has enabled us to reach and support more individuals and families throughout the community.
The Hospice Care Center is the final piece of the puzzle, but donations are needed to help make it a reality. “There's a sense of urgency. Philanthropy matters more now than ever,” Owsley said. “We don’t know what reimbursement will look like in the future—we’re in uncertain times. That’s why these gifts are so critical. They fill the gap.”
All donations to the Hosparus Health Inpatient Hospice Care Center are tax-deductible and help leave a legacy that will touch countless members of the Louisville community. “We want everyone in our community to spend their last moments surrounded by compassion and dignity,” Owsley said. “This hospice care center ensures they’ll have the care and resources they need when it matters most.”
Give online at HosparusHealth.org or PlacesOfCompassion.com
