Hospice of Wichita Falls to open new inpatient center

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - Hospice of Wichita Falls has had to turn people away because they have not had enough capacity in their current inpatient center. They knew something had to be done, so with the help of donations from the community, they got to work.

“Back in 2016, we were having a waiting list for our inpatient center, and we didn’t want that,” Alisa Echols, Hospice Wichita Falls executive director, said. “We never want to turn anyone away who needs inpatient care.”

After seeing a need for growth, Hospice Wichita Falls decided to take action by starting the capital campaign, “Building on a Legacy of Care” back in 2018. They then chose Jake Truette, Director of Developmental Services for Hospice Wichita Falls, to head the project.

“We really knew that somehow expansion was a part of our future,” Truette said. “For the longest time we weren’t exactly sure what that expansion would look like, but over time it became more and more apparent that what we needed to do was focus on building a facility that was capable of not only providing inpatient care for more people in our community but also doing it in a way where the family members, friends and caregivers felt at home and very welcome there.”

$15 million was raised in the span of a year and a half to make this possible. They are expanding from 12 rooms to 24, along with many other upgrades.

“We have learned so much over the 20+ years that we have been operating across the street,” Truette said. “This allows us to do it on a scale where technology is going to be more of a factor, where common spaces are more available. We want to make sure that anyone that is in this facility to see their loved one is here to only focus on their loved one. They don’t need to worry about anything while they are in our building.”

Hospice of Wichita Falls is excited for what this new facility will offer and wants to thank the community for all they have done because they say without them, they would not be able to achieve their mission.

“Our mission is to provide care, hope and support for all when illness threatens life,” Echols said. “Sometimes at the end of life, people want to be at home, sometimes that might not be possible, and they need to be in an inpatient facility like this. We never want to turn anybody away who needs that kind of care.”

Construction is almost finished for their new facility. They expect to have their doors open in late January.

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