Hospice of North Idaho says it plans to begin construction next spring on a $3.5 million Hospice House facility on a six-acre piece of property it has purchased at 2212 W. Prairie, in Coeur d'Alene.

The land, which the nonprofit recently bought for about $500,000, also will give the organization space to expand the planned 10,500-square-foot, eight-bed inpatient facility later and eventually to move its administrative offices there from their current location at 9493 N. Government Way, in Hayden, says Paul Weil, the nonprofit's executive director.

Currently, the organization collaborates with Kootenai Medical Center to provide inpatient palliative care, which seeks to reduce symptoms when a disease can't be cured, and it offers hospice care on an outpatient basis and to clients in their own homes, but doesn't currently have its own inpatient facility.

ALSC Architects PS, of Spokane, is designing the project, but a builder hasn't been selected yet, Weil says. The organization hopes to raise $2 million to fund the project by the time it's ready to begin construction in the spring, he says. It has raised about $700,000 so far.

The agency serves Kootenai, Shoshone, and Benewah counties and says it has noted a growing need for the services of a Hospice House, which provides highly skilled nursing care in a home-like setting for people at the end of their lives, as well as support for their families, Weil says.

Though Hospice of North Idaho ideally seeks to provide services to its clients and their families at their own homes, in some cases it becomes very difficult for people to remain at home, Weil says.

"If there are unmanageable crises because of pain, caregiver fatigue, or needs beyond what the caregiver can provide, then the next best place to go is a Hospice House," he says.

KMC is filling some of the need for higher-level care, with four rooms set aside for end-of-life care, which has given Hospice of North Idaho time to plan its project. Weil says those rooms are no longer enough to meet the growing need.

"With collaboration with us they've been doing a good job meeting the community's needs, but as the area grows and as we grow and as the demographics shift, we see more stress on the rooms," Weil says.

The planned Hospice House is being designed to have a "North Idaho" look, with a wood and stone exterior, Weil says. The facility would include patient rooms large enough for family members to spend the night; a large community living room area; a kitchen where family members could cook as well as another kitchen where meals will be prepared for clients; a pharmacy area; a play area for children; offices for staff members who will include skilled nurses, a social worker, and a chaplain; and a courtyard area.

Though the project was originally envisioned as a 12-bed facility, Weil says economic realities have made Hospice of North Idaho scale down its plans, but it is designing the building so it can be expanded later easily.