Coming off jury duty late one afternoon, M. Sharon Smith returned to work at Tranquility, WellStar Community Hospice's 18-bed inpatient facility.
A fountain welcomes visitors to the courtyard in front of Tranquility, the residential hospice on the campus of Cobb WellStar Hospital in Marietta.
"There were holiday decorations up and the smell of spiced cider coming from the family-room kitchen. One of the volunteers had brought a harp and was playing for the patients," said Smith, Ed.D., director of hospice development. "It was like I had come home, and I realized that this is exactly what we had envisioned when we built Tranquility — that it would be like a home for the people who came to spend their last days here."
Tranquility is a home that celebrates life. It takes seriously the words of Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement: "You matter because you are you. You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die."
Each room at Tranquility has double French doors leading to a patio that overlooks a central garden. Families wheel residents outside to enjoy the greenery, fountain, birds and flowers. Children and pets are welcome around the clock. More than 100 trained volunteers provide music, record people's life stories and sit with patients who have no families.
"We've had tomato plants, that families planted, growing on the patio," said Smith, who has been with the program for 19 years. "We had a 100th birthday party for one resident and a 50th for another who had never had a birthday party before. We've had tea parties.
"One couple renewed their vows in the chapel before she died; another moved up their wedding and held it here, so that his mom could attend. We have as many stories as we've had patients at Tranquility."
That would be about 4,000 since the facility opened in 1998.
"One of the real differences with hospice is the shift in focus from cure to comfort and the shift in decision-making to the patient. They tell us what they need," said Charlene Bunts, RN, BSN, CHPN, director of hospice and palliative care at Tranquility.
Bunts, a neonatal nurse practitioner who became a hospice nurse 10 years ago, said that there are many parallels between the beginning and the end of life. Both are sacred, she believes.
"One of the reasons I like hospice care is that we place equal value on the patient's physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. We can accommodate all people's beliefs to affirm the fact that their life has meaning," Bunts said. "Hospice is not just a place; it's a face — and it's the face of our community — and I've never felt such a strong feeling of community as I do here. We're taking care of our family members, our friends and neighbors."
Since it opened in 1982, WellStar Community Hospice's reach has grown from its original 20-mile radius around WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Austell; it now serves residents of Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties. But WellStar Community Hospice's mission to provide compassionate, high-quality care for people with life-limiting illnesses has not changed.
With 500 supporters in attendance, WellStar Community Hospice celebrated its 25th anniversary in May.
The hospice program began at then-Kennestone Regional Hospital through the "vision and sheer tenacity of founders who were willing to step out and take a risk, because hospice was not an accepted practice then. They were a little ahead of their time," Smith said.
M. Sharon Smith (left) and Charlene Bunts of WellStar Community Hospice pose in the facility's library.
Cecil Fike, chaplain at Kennestone Regional Hospital, attended a seminar on death and dying that was given by noted author Elizabeth Kübler-Ross. He then sold hospital CEO Bernie Brown on the idea of hospice care.
Martha Thompson Wagner, a psychologist specializing in gerontology with hospice experience, was the first director until Smith took over in 1985.
WellStar Community Hospice was one of the first hospital-based hospice programs in Georgia and was the first in the state to be accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Bunts said.
"It takes about two years of training to have the depth of experience to know what to do and how to do it for patients at the end of life," Bunts said.
Nurses, physicians, nursing assistants, social workers, chaplains and support staff provide care in patients' homes and at Tranquility.
Tranquility was built with funds from corporations, civic groups and donors. In the beginning, all of Tranquility's services were provided by the hospital at no charge. Today, Medicare hospice benefits pay for some services.
Care for patients who can't afford it is paid for by the Tranquility Angel Fund, an endowment supported by the community. Gifts to the fund often honor family members or friends who have passed away. About $2.6 million has been raised toward the fund's $5 million goal.
"We want to give the absolute best service to the people in our communities, for generations to come," Bunts said.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
For information about WellStar Community Hospice or the Tranquility Angel Fund, call M. Sharon Smith at 770-732-6710 or the WellStar Foundation at 770-956-4483.