Guilford Woman June 2012 : Page 29he front entry looks like it leads to a very comfortable home—an inviting wooden swing under a covered porch, well-groomed plantings and colorful flowers. And it is a home and has been a “home away from home” for nearly 2,000 patients and families over the past nearly six years. The creative force behind Hospice Home at High Point is Leslie Kalinowski, presi-dent and CEO of Hospice of the Pied-mont. The agency has been caring for terminally ill patients in Guilford, Ran-dolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties since 1981. “Hospice Home has been a godsend to so many,” explains one sup-porter. “And Leslie Kalinowski has made this exceptional place a reality.” In fact, Leslie is in her 22nd year leading the High Point-based healthcare agency. A current $1.2 million capital campaign to expand the facility from 14 to 18 pa-tient rooms is her third major building project for the agency. In 1997, the agency purchased and reno-vated its first permanent home in a for-mer movie theater on Westchester Drive in High Point. Overlooking its sloped floors and lingering popcorn odor, Leslie recognized the potential of the site and raised $1.5 million to make it a perma-nent home for the agency. To fill a critically unmet need in the com-munity, Leslie put on her hardhat (yes, she really does have one!) to spearhead planning and completion of the agency’s inpatient facility, which opened in 2006 on a corner of the former theater’s park-ing lot. The $3.5 million fundraising campaign for Hospice Home brought to-gether more than 700 individuals, busi-nesses, and foundations supporting the hospice mission, even receiving in-kind donations of fabrics and furnishings from the “furniture capital of the world.” T The current expansion campaign, “Where Hope Lives,” aptly describes the facility’s mission of redefining hope and providing comfort for patients and families facing the last weeks and months of life. Last year, Hospice of the Piedmont applied to the State of North Carolina for a certifi-cate of need to add more space including four patient rooms. With inpatient beds at 105% of capacity last year and the waiting list averaging four patients daily, the 4,600 square foot addition will help ensure that compassionate care and symp-tom management is available for all pa-tients– 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Every day, patients have to be turned away,” according to campaign co-chairs Susan Culp and Barbara Coughlin, who with their husbands Rob Culp and Dr. Paul Coughlin are leading the fundraising efforts. “Our goal is to give each patient dignity at the end of life with the appro-priate care, serenity and comfort that the Home provides.” “When I started at this agency, the con-cept of hospice was not well known,” Leslie explains. “Because the public wasn’t aware of its benefits, we needed to do a lot of education about what it’s all about. I’ve been fortunate to witness in-credible growth and hospice care becom-ing the gold standard for end-of-life care. Our goal is to ensure that our patients and families’ experience is the best it can be – medical, emotional and spiritual.” One of Leslie’s mottos is “Every patient is the only patient,” emphasizing the Hos-pice’s personalized approach with a care plan tailored for each patient’s particular situation and always considering what is best for the patient. She explains that the needs of each individual vary and every family’s situation is different, but most patients prefer to spend their final days in their own home, whenever possible. For those who cannot remain at home, Leslie and her team started talking about the concept of building a Hospice Home in the mid-1990s. “We were caring for more and more patients without full-time caregivers, and more working families,” she notes. “The demographics of our aging populations really reflect the grow-ing demand for inpatient care like Hos-pice Home care for patients in the last weeks of life with greater needs.” “When I walk down the halls, I often re-call the stories of so many patients and families who have called it home for a time,” notes Leslie. It’s a place that cuts across all lines – economic, religious, and background. Patients of all ages and diag-noses receive care. About 55% of resi-dential care costs are subsidized by generous support from the community. “You can hear families sharing stories, and laughter, and tears, as they come to-gether at a challenging time,” notes one staff member. The 35-person team at Hospice Home cares for the patient and about the family as well. “Though the building is the place where it happens, our experienced caregivers here – just like our home care staff – are what it’s all about,” Leslie says. “The inviting building makes it comfort-able to come in, but it’s the expertise of our staff in handling pain and symptom management that makes it comfortable for patients.” “I’ve had the opportunity to work with exceptionally compassionate and compe-tent people and privileged to interact with so many interesting and strong care-givers over the years,” says Leslie in clos-ing. “It has truly enriched my life.” And her efforts will continue to make a differ-ence in the lives of many generations to come as they open the doors to experi-ence Hospice Home. GUILFORDWOMAN.COM | 29 Publication List |
