The founder of Serenity House tries to bring dignity to dying
AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the non profit Carolina Comfort Coalition, Cheryl Pletcher created and runs an organization which helps terminally ill people who want to live their last days in a home environment. Pletcher has been involved with hospice nursing for about 30 years—first in upstate New York, then here in the Charlotte area since 2001. She’s worked in a variety of health care settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, and home hospice care.
She was in New York when she became aware of the concept of a comfort care home, which bridges the gap for families that find themselves in the difficult spot where their loved one needs more care than they can provide, but does not need to be in a hospice facility. She was surprised to find out that nothing similar existed in Charlotte. She created the first Serenity House in Mooresville in 2007, and the organization established a second house in Huntersville in 2014.
Everybody admitted to Serenity House is receiving hospice care, which oversees the medication component of their care. Serenity House doesn’t have ventilators, needles, or equipment (other than oxygen). At a hospice facility, patients are in the final stages of dying and in need of intense medical management to handle their pain and/or breathing issues. The residents of Serenity House are at the point where they do not want any further medical interventions, but they are not in an acute situation where they would need to be inpatient. They can stay here for up to three months. It is their desire to spend their remaining time in a loving, caring, home-like environment.
Pletcher sat down with Charlotte magazine and talked about the role Serenity House plays in the region, and what she’s learned from patients and families along the way. Here she is, in her own words (edited for clarity and space).
This story is from the July 2017 edition of Charlotte Magazine.
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This story is from the July 2017 edition of Charlotte Magazine.
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