HOME IS WHERE THE SUN SETS
Aaron Burch
T
here’s an inconspicuous two-story
brick house on Adams Street in
Butchertown. Because the neighborhood is full of old homes, this one
hardly makes an impact on the naked
eye. Other than a small sign out front,
there’s no reason to know it as anything
but a residence.
treatment, then they wouldn’t be able to
visit their friend at the end of their life,”
Cassidy said. “Hospitals are a terrible place
to die, especially without our loved ones
around.”
But 114 Adams Street is full of surprises.
Not only was it a former convent of the Ursuline Sisters, but beginning this month,
it will host those in need as the home of
Hildegard House, Kentucky’s first comfort
care home for those in the final days of their lives.
Inside the home are bedrooms for residents, a kitchen, several
rooms shared for community or kept for privacy, as well as an office
and living space for Executive Director Karen Cassidy, who has
shepherded Hildegard House from inception to its grand opening.
Cassidy is a geriatrics and palliative care nurse practitioner with
more than 35 years of experience in health care. Alongside Dr. Ruth
Simons, Cassidy oversaw palliative care at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth
Hospital and Jewish Hospital. It was there that her passion for taking
care of those in need inspired her to take action.
“I was pretty distressed at the way we had to discharge patients
who didn’t have any homes or families,” Cassidy said. “Elderly people whose spouse had died, those who didn’t have any children or
whose family was far away, these people couldn’t access outpatient
hospice services because you must have a caregiver. If they were
on Medicaid and no beds were open in Kentucky, a lot of times
they would seek care in Indiana or Tennessee where they would
die among total strangers.”
One elderly woman’s predicament provided the turning point in
which Cassidy knew something had to be done. The woman lived
alone in a high rise,
and her family consisted of three other
elderly women who
happened to play
bridge together.
“She got septic
and was dying, and
these other ladies
would come and
visit her by bus. The
other women were
panicking because
they knew that if
the doctors sent
her somewhere for
14
LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
Cassidy and another nurse at Sts. Mary
& Elizabeth found an article about a comfort care home in Syracuse, New York, and
went up for a visit. “After we got back, we
knew Louisville needed one as well, but
nobody had time to get it going.”
Unsure of what to do with her life, Cassidy began writing up a business plan for
what would become Hildegard House in early 2014. The plan was
completed in April of that year. Miraculously, the articles of incorporation were approved in just six weeks during the summer. By September, Hildegard House was a full-fledged non-profit organization.
A Hildegard House Board of Directors was soon put together
including several members of Louisville’s charity community and
featuring physician oversight from Board Chair Dr. Ruth Simons
and Medical Director Dr. Kenneth Anderson.
Dr. Anderson is a pulmonologist at Baptist Health where he also
serves as vice president and chief medical officer. Upon being asked
to assist with Hildegard House, he jumped at the opportunity.
“I see my position as two-fold,” Dr. Anderson said. “I can elect to
be the physician of record through hospice because I’ll be working
with staff and volunteers. And as medical director, I can also help
set up policies, staffing and education.”
He anticipates that many of the volunteers at Hildegard House
will be nurses or medical students. “Some of our policies will have
a hospital feel to them, but we will rarely need IVs or more complicated equipment. More important for Hildegard House is treating
the patients well. Patient safety, patient satisfaction, patient everything - just as we strive for here at the hospital, but with an intense
focus on comfort.”
Hildegard House will partner significantly with Hosparus of
Louisville to provide that comfort in each resident’s final days.
“We truly believe that people who are dying should get to manage
their own process. We’re just accompanying them. Our volunteers
will take the cues, but the residents are driving the train,” Cassidy
explained. “We know our bodies are shutting down at the end of life,
so we want to make sure people are comfortable and have dignity.”
Hildegard House will have a small paid staff including day and
night time nurses. Everyone else will work on a volunteer basis,
spending four hours with “their” resident and one hour working on
other projects. Volunteers will also be given bereavement assistance.
Instrumental in the coordination and planning of Hildegard