PHOTOS BY HEATHER N. GRIMMER/CONTRIBUTOR - Niagara Hospice President and CEO John Lomeo, at left, and Odd Fellow & Rebekah Rehabilitation & Health Care Center CEO/Administrator Eugene Urban stand before the new nine-bed hospice unit at Odd Fellows named Rebekah's Pathway.

First designated hospice unit collaboration in East Niagara

Odd Fellow & Rebekah Rehabilitation & Health Care Center and Niagara Hospice kicked off a new collaboration with the grand opening of Rebekah’s Pathway this morning. Rebekah’s Pathway provides the first and only dedicated hospice unit in eastern Niagara County.

Rebekah’s Pathway, located on the Odd Fellow & Rebekah campus at the corner of Lake Avenue and Old Niagara Road in Lockport, has nine dedicated beds for residents in need of hospice care. There is one private room and four double rooms, a lounge area for residents and family members, and a hospitality room for visiting family. In there summer months, there will be a landscaped and furnished outdoor courtyard.

A new hospice room provides a comfortable place for  patients and their family. Also available is a private  meeting room for patients and their family.

About 30 people were on hand for the ceremonial ribbon cutting and grand opening, including local officials, Niagara Hospice and Odd Fellow staff, volunteers, residents and family members.
 
“We have had a positive working relationship with Niagara Hospice for a number of years and both organizations have a strong sense of pride and a desire to honor our similar values,” said Eugene Urban, CEO and administrator of Odd Fellow & Rebekah Rehabilitation & Health Care Center. “We believe that health care is local and it is our responsibility to provide our community with the best possible quality of care; and to deliver that care with the utmost respect, compassion and dignity."

Niagara Hospice is a not-for-profit organization that serves nearly 155 patients per day. The organization has been providing end-of-life care since 1988 and is the only hospice provider in Niagara County. Odd Fellow & Rebekah Rehabilitation & Health Care Center is also a non-profit facility, sponsored by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, that provides long-term care and rehabilitation services as well as respite care.

Odd Fellow & Rebekah Rehabilitation & Health Care Center staff have completed specialized training with the Niagara Hospice multidisciplinary team that addresses the special needs of residents nearing end of life.

“The addition of Rebekah’s Pathway fills a need in the eastern end of the county for our most seriously ill residents," said Niagara Hospice President & CEO, John Lomeo. "By concentrating hospice services in one location, we are able to ensure the gold standard of care for every patient, every family, every time. These individuals deserve our best, and together we accomplish that mission.”

Kay Dekker, vice president of hospice services at Niagara Hospice added, “We are fortunate to have an exceptional partner here in Lockport in the dedicated Odd Fellow staff, and we look forward to providing additional resources for the benefit of their seriously ill residents.”

Additional benefits of the collaboration include reduced hospitalizations and fewer emergency room visits. “Our primary goals are to increase and improve efficiency, clinical practices, compliance with new regulations and, most significantly, to provide the best quality of service to our hospice residents and their families,” said Urban.

Colleen Muncy talks with Re Collins, an 11-year resident of Odd Fellows. Having lost her own daughter 15 years ago, Re described how valuable Niagara Hospice was for her daughter, and how she is glad to see the new unit at Odd Fellows, in hopes that it will provide the same services for herself when her time comes whether in the near future or down the road because, as she stated, "Only God really knows when that will be."

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