Home will comfort dying

The community home, set to open next spring, will be a two-bed residence. Sister Charla Commins, CSJ, director of Catholic Charities, noted that keeping the facility that small ensures a homelike atmosphere and means New York State doesn't have to regulate it.

"For a long time, we've been concerned about folks who want Hospice services but can't get them because they don't have a caregiver" to make healthcare decisions on their behalf, she explained.

Catholic Charities and The Community Hospice decided to become partners in creating the community home to help such patients. It's a good match, said Sister Charla, because the two organizations have similar missions. Hospice will provide professional staff while Catholic Charities will recruit volunteers to operate the home.

This is the first community home in the Albany Diocese; there are nine such homes in the Rochester area and one in Utica. The home will be open to residents with a prognosis of three months or less to live who can no longer stay in their own homes. Priority will be given to those in the greatest need; residents accepted into the home will receive 24-hour-a-day care at no charge.

"This is really just a substitute for a home, where people can die with some dignity," Sister Charla stated.

The Saratoga Springs community has already rallied behind the $250,000 project: Construction company owner Tom Roohan donated his firm's services; architect Tom Frost designed the home; and surveyors, excavators, roofers and framers have pitched in, as well.

However, more help is needed. The director noted that "the heart of the program is volunteers." It takes 100 volunteers to maintain a community home, she said -- from patient care to cooking, cleaning, yard work and errands.

"We want to engage other people in the community to come on board," Sister Charla told The Evangelist. She hopes that when people see "what a wonderful thing this is for the community," they'll want to get involved.

(For more information, call Saratoga Catholic Charities at 587-5000.)

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