VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Hospice care can help improve the quality of life for people with an incurable diagnosis, usually when doctors have given them six months or less to live.
Tori Crenshaw recalled the pressure of caring for her husband and her father at home at the end of their lives.
"I had guidelines, but when you wake up in the middle of the night and someone is moaning and in pain, and you have no one you can call or turn to, it's scary," Crenshaw said.
"You make the decision for your loved one to die at home, but you don't have the support around you, typically. There aren't nurses ready to come in and help you if pain is not being controlled," Crenshaw said. "I know one of my family members was in pain, and I didn't know how much of the morphine drops I should give. Am I giving too much? Are they going to go into respiratory failure? Am I giving too little? Are they comfortable?"
Crenshaw hopes to help ease that fear and stress for other people and families when Dororetz Hospice House of Hampton Roads opens its doors. She will serve as the executive director of the nonprofit facility.
"It's quite emotional for me, so I really have my heart and soul in this," Crenshaw said.
She will also maintain her current position as senior vice president of health and innovation at Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay. The senior living community is partnering with Beth Sholom Village to operate and manage the hospice house.
Dororetz is set to address a critical need for more end-of-life support in the region. The facility will be one of the only freestanding hospice houses in Hampton Roads. Crenshaw said the experience is different for hospice patients in an independent facility than a nursing home or hospital.
"An individual... could be getting hospice care for 6 months plus in a nursing center. And it's kind of their home," Crenshaw said. "If you go into the hospital, they're managing your pain and your symptoms, and then, discharging you... to home."
"[Dozoretz is] not a mix of individuals that need nursing home services and other services. These people are coming here for respite, short time," Crenshaw said. "Our setting is going to be... very nice, it's very relaxing. Family members can bring in food for their loved ones. They can stay overnight. We have four suites at the hospice house."
In the coming weeks, Dozoretz plans to attain CHAP accreditation, allowing the hospice house to bill Medicare for covered services.
"Medicare and insurance companies will pay five days of respite care in a row to give the family a break," Crenshaw said.
It's one of the critical tasks the facility must complete before being welcoming patients, including getting a certificate of occupancy and receiving licensure and certification from the Virginia Department of Health.
The growing need for hospice care was addressed in Old Dominion University's "The State of the Region" report, which noted that Hampton Roads needs 45 beds to care for thousands of residents with life-limiting illnesses every year.
Dozoretz will provide 12 beds, as well as a bereavement center and grief support groups for families.
"We'll have chaplains and social workers there for the families and the resident. And bereavement services, you know, will be following up with the family for over a year," Crenshaw said. "We hope to have kind of an event annually, bringing families back to ... celebrate the life of their loved ones. But it's also just staying close, if they do need special services, to just ... listen, talk with them, and provide resources if necessary."
The City of Virginia Beach donated 2.5 acres of land on Upton Drive for the $10,930,000 project. Crenshaw said $8,446,000 of that has already been raised, and upcoming fundraisers aim to close the donation gap. There is also an angel fund for people in need of end-of-life support who can't afford services.
Construction on the facility began in March 2023. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for next week.
Crenshaw anticipated the hospice house would start accepting patients by May.
Dororetz is hiring for several positions, including registered nurses and certified nursing assistants.
"People who work in hospice just have wonderful stories that drove them to being involved in hospice," Crenshaw said. "And they're just compassionate, special people."
Click here for a list of available job opportunities at the hospice house.
You can also click here to sign up as a volunteer. Crenshaw said that while more than 50 people have already inquired about volunteering, the hospice house needs more people to sign up to spend time with residents, answer phones, and help maintain surrounding gardens.