This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Imagine vaulted ceilings and exposed beams. Think of Deer Valley's Stein Eriksen Lodge but with a warm, down-home feel and a horse pasture out back.
No, The Residence is not a vacation destination. But, in a way, it is a destination; it's a hospice for end-of-life care.
"There is a fallacy - a lot of people think hospice is about dying," said Gina Coccimiglio, the chief clinical officer at The Residence in Holladay. "But hospice is really about living for whatever part of your life is left to live."
A nurse by training, Coccimiglio and her business partner, Shawni Tanner, wanted to create an alternative to nursing homes and hospital rooms for those who have come to the end of their lives. So, in 2002, they built The Residence at 1624 E. 4500 South. It is operated by Coccimiglio and Tanner's company, CareSource, which has offered in-home hospice services since 1997.
At The Residence - the only free-standing in-patient hospice in Utah - families can gather in spacious areas with comfortable furniture. Large windows wash the place in warm light. French doors open to patios on all of the 22 rooms where patients can step out to smell the garden or watch the horses.
And patients can have anything they want. The facility has its own cafe, which will make meals to order.
"If they want nothing but strawberries, then that's what we'll serve," Coccimiglio said.
The hospice has a chapel, theater and hair salon, among other amenities.
The staff includes clergy, counselors and massage therapists, as well as nurses and doctors. There's even a music therapist who will play the harp to soothe the dying.
"People who come here have changed their focus," Coccimiglio said. "They are no longer looking to be cured, but, rather, want to enjoy what's left of their life without feeling sick from uncomfortable treatments."
Since the mid-1980s, hospice care has been guaranteed by Medicaid and Medicare for those diagnosed to live six months or less.
For Jacquelane Augason and her family, The Residence is a welcome alternative to a hospital room during a difficult time. Her husband, Philip Augason, 67, is dying of congestive heart failure and diabetes.
"It's wonderful here," she said. "It's quiet. The nurses all have smiles on their faces. When you ask them for something, they do it immediately and then ask if there is anything else they can do."
The Augasons have five children and 11 grandchildren.
"It's nice to have them all here and not be crowded into a small room," Jacquelane Augason said. "This doesn't compare with anything I've seen or experienced, and I've been an RN for 30 years. I had no idea this type of environment was available."
Hospice care is as much about the patient's family as it is about the patient, Coccimiglio explained.
"Instead of them going through this alone, we have a team to help them understand the process," she said. "People are afraid because they don't know what's going to happen. We try to prepare them for that."
In the meantime, the patient and loved ones should be in a warm environment with a staff dedicated to making them comfortable, Coccimiglio said.
"What we can do is make sure the person who is dying has a good death."