Hospice moves into new building, nearly paid off

Hospice of Washington County Executive Director Katrina Altenhofen started her work with the organization in 2016.

Right off the bat, she noticed a variety of issues with the group’s building. The structure was not ADA-compliant, the basement frequently flooded, and visible cracks in the wall indicated possible structural damage.

“By 2019, the board had said, ‘Yes, we need a new building,’ … we started hitting the community hard and heavy for funding,” Altenhofen said. “COVID happened in 2020, so we were no longer able to go door-to-door, so we started doing letter campaigns … by last year, we had a plan for what this building was going to look like, and broke ground in June.”

In January of 2022, employees moved into their new building on the same property, one parking lot away from the former location. The move happened as soon as possible, before the building was entirely finished.

“There were still things that needed to be done, but we were able to at least get over here and start that process,” Altenhofen said. “We still have some office furniture that’s not in yet … but it was nice to work somewhere I wasn’t worried I would walk in the next day and have water in the basement.”

Changes were immediately felt by Altenhofen.

“I don’t worry about the other shoe falling,” Altenhofen said. “I always was worried that there was going to be a day that I didn’t get there in time to suck the water out, and we were going to see it coming up the steps. Or pull up and part of the building has already sunk in. So it gives me peace of mind knowing we’re in a safe environment.”

The same can be said for the Hospice center’s staff, all of whom saw quality of life improvements after the move.

“We’ve been in here six or seven months and I’ve heard more laughter, more family conversations, unity as a team, than in all of the six years we were in the other building,” Altenhofen said. “We’re all on one level, we all pass by each other … we have a kitchen where we can sit and discuss the day.”

“There’s a warmer sense, they have a really nice space to come and work in,” Altenhofen said. “Before, I didn’t have windows, a lot of the staff didn’t have windows. It’s neat to see this staff grow and be happy.”

The new building totaled around $1.3 million. For the nonprofit hospice group, that was a major undertaking, made possible by tireless fundraising efforts and a handful of major grants, like those from the Riverboat Foundation and even the state’s Department of Agriculture.

The project was mostly paid for by mid-July, with around $100,000 to go. Altenhofen said it was a nerve-wracking journey to raise those funds.

“We originally took out a $600,000 loan (and) we were very worried about, ‘Can we swing this?’” she said. “Nobody wants to be the director of an agency that bankrupts that agency. That is very hard on you, that’s where you second guess yourself quite often. But I knew in my heart of hearts that we needed to do something, this staff needed to have a better work environment.”

The secret to success, according to Altenhofen, was an organization-wide mindset of hard work and community connections.

“I’ve always said, our hospice is a unique, mom-and-pop hospice,” she said. “We value our external team members, partners … and we want to make sure we’re good stewards to them. It’s always been an all-hands-on-deck culture.”

The bigger, better work space offers more than just a comfortable place to clock in. It contains a variety of new features the old building lacked.

For one, a dedicated break room gives staff a place to recharge from the taxing nature of their jobs.

"Of all rooms in the building, this is where we gather, we didn’t have this in the other building,“ Altenhofen said. ”It’s a kitchen space that we can have discussions or whatever.“

A sizable conference room at ground level allows large groups to gather and hold important meetings. Altenhofen said it was around four times the size of the previous meeting room.

“This has given us a nice space to conduct the meetings without being on top of each other,” she said. “We’ve hosted various civic groups in the community to have their meetings here, so it makes for another nice spot. My intent is to also have education stuff here, what’s dementia, what’s Alzheimer’s, that kind of stuff.”

An on-call room gives overnight staff and volunteers a place to stay if they don’t live close to town. By day, it doubles as a private space for families meeting staff for consultations.

“It’s a nice place we can take people, and we’ve got a bed for when someone needs to stay overnight,” Altenhofen said. “For any reason, it’s kind of like a nice little apartment, basically. It serves not just us, but the community of family members.”

Altenhofen said she hoped the new space would allow Hospice of Washington County to offer the best possible support. Hospice is a type of care that is often misunderstood, and getting patients to understand what it offers is half the battle.

“I would like people to know and understand what hospice and palliative care is before they come to us,” she said. “I find it very sad that individuals feel they can’t fall hospice unless they’re within 24 hours of dying, and that’s not true. There’s so much more we can provide for folks.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com