VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Hampton Roads’ first free-standing hospice home opened this morning in Virginia Beach after 10 years of planning.
The hospice house will provide compassionate care to patients at the end of their life.
It was the dream of Dr. Ronald Dozoretz, whose family the house is named for.
“My dad always had the most caring nature,” Shari Friedman said. “He was always so passionate and compassionate with people in need.”
A recent report from Old Dominion University estimated that Hampton Roads needs 45 in-patient hospice beds per day.
“We have over 1.8 million people just on the Southside of Hampton Roads,” said Ben Unkle, Westminster Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay CEO, “and this is the only hospice house that they can come to to meet their needs.”
Westminster-Canterbury and Beth Shalom Village manage the house, which is opening with 12 beds.
“We hope that other cities will follow suit and open their own hospice house,” Friedman said.
The city of Virginia Beach donated the land, and the community has raised nearly $8.7 million of the $10.9 million needed to build it.
“It’s a community that wraps its arms around those in their final season of life,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin at the Tuesday morning ribbon cutting. “It’s a community that can, in fact, be judged by how it treats those in need.”
Private rooms provide serene views from patients beds, and there are separate rooms for loved ones to stay in when time is short.
It’s a place where people of all religions and walks of life can find comfort and care, and make the best of the time they have left.
The Dozoretz House will begin taking patients in May.
Medicare and Medicaid do cover hospice care, so continued donations will be necessary to keep the non-profit house open and available to all who need it.
