Cheryl Pletcher and other organizers want to start an end-of-life home in Davidson, like Mooresville's Serenity House (background). (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Where would you like to die? A jarring thought, yes, but not an inappropriate one. As we or family members near the end of life, it’s an important question.

Our area has hospitals and hospices, and for many, home is the favored choice. But for some families, none of those fits. Since 2007, Serenity House, off I-77 Exit 33, in Mooresville has offered another option called “comfort care,” to families of those nearing death. Now organizers are trying to bring a “comfort care” home to Davidson, and eventually to Cornelius.

Cheryl Pletcher, a hospice nurse, brought the idea to this area from New York State, where she says it’s a common option. Comfort care homes like Serenity House are not medical facilities, they’re more like a home, with nursing care as needed, she says. They help fill a gap in end-of-life care by taking into account the needs of caregivers, as well as patients.

It’s a great option for busy families who don’t have the ability to keep a dying loved one in their own houses, but want the feeling of a home, she says. Places like Serenity House also can help families that may not be “intact,” Ms. Pletcher says, by providing a home outside the family – on neutral ground.

Whatever the situation, “When the family comes here, they can make it ‘their’ house,” Ms. Pletcher says.

The service is popular. Carolina Comfort Coalition, the nonprofit that runs Serenity House, has a lengthy waiting list. Most of its equipment, furniture and labor are donated, and its house is leased for $1 a year from nearby Centre Presbyterian Church.

In Davidson, Ms. Pletcher and other supporters of a comfort care home are searching for similar, suitable house. It needs several bedrooms and doorways wide enough to accommodate stretchers. And the house will need a cadre of volunteers – as many as 50 a week.

Ms. Pletcher has penned a commentary on our Young at Heart Page about her plans. Please see “The Finish Line of Life,” CLICK HERE»