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A newly incorporated non-profit called Friends of Hopewell House is overseeing a fundraising campaign to purchase the Tudor-style residential building that Hopewell occupied. They have the right to bid first on the property after the funds are assembled. Their plan is to provide comprehensive and innovative care in a home-like environment for patients who can’t receive care in their residence but do not want to be in a hospital.

One of the organization’s goals is to provide care that goes beyond the current Medicare Hospice Benefit.

We are excited to share that Friends of Hopewell House have received two significant financial contributions. A generous $1 million donation was made by the locally based Marcia H. Randall Foundation. 

Marcia Randall, the Foundation Board Chair, visited a friend that died in the house a few weeks before it closed and her experience moved her. She has quietly been observing Friends of Hopewell House for a positive sign of forward momentum and the $500k donation given by prominent Portland people, Priscilla Bernard Wieden -  who used to volunteer at the house - and Dan Wieden (of Wieden + Kennedy) inspired her to come forward with her donation.

In the aftermath of the closing of Hopewell House, the only hospice house in Portland, one final hope has arisen. After 30 years of providing compassionate and dignified end-of-life care, Hopewell sadly shut its doors in 2019. With only months to raise the funds, Friends of Hopewell House, a newly incorporated 501(c) nonprofit, has launched a $5 million capital campaign to purchase the property from Legacy Health Systems and once again open the beloved institution’s welcoming doors. 

A year after Legacy Health closed Portland’s only free-standing hospice home, a group of supporters hopes to raise $5 million to bring it back to life...

A tremendous amount of gratitude to Priscilla Bernard Wieden who has stepped forward with a $500,000 donation to help save Hopewell House. Priscilla has volunteered at Hopewell House in the past and knows how special it is. She has been inspired by the community's support and we are on our way to making this happen. 

We need the community's support and we have launched a GoFundMe fundraiser as a way for people to connect and to show larger donors that the community cares. It includes beautiful videos and images- please take a moment to look. 

... If FHH can come up with the fair market value for the Hillsdale property, the group plans to reopen it as an inpatient hospice care facility under a nonprofit model. As planned, new management would lean less heavily on insurance reimbursements, relying instead on a combination of private funds via patient funding, bed day agreements with local health systems, Medicaid reimbursements, and philanthropy to sustain operations, said Scott MacEachern, FHH board member. 

Legacy Health has announced its intention to sell Hopewell House. They will officially list the building and property for sale at the beginning of 2021, giving us, Friends of Hopewell House (FHH), until the end of the year to come up with the funds to purchase it. We anticipate the need to raise approximately 5 million dollars.  

Dr. Eric Walsh brings his years of hospice experience to the board of Friends of Hopewell House.  His wealth of experience includes Hospice Medical Director  at Housecall Providers, and hospice medical director at the Bronx Hospice Visiting Nurse Service of New York when the AIDS epidemic was in the acceleration phase... 

 A dear friend of mine was at Hopewell House several years ago until his passing. He did not have any family left and his stay at Hopewell House was like home. All of us that came to visit with him each day were always warmly welcomed by the staff and volunteers. There were always snacks and beverages available to visitors on the big dining room table. I was told that the baked goods had been donated by the local bakeries, family members, and staff. The quality of care and dignity that was given to him by the staff was so heartfelt.
He had many friends that were musically talented and would arrive with their instruments…harp, violin, guitar, and play soft music while we visited.
As his time to leave drew near, the nurses checked on him very frequently and kept us informed during the process. It was a beautiful fall day and a large Japanese maple tree stood outside the window of his room, in all of its fall splendor. One of the nurses came in and opened the window just a little bit and said that this would make it easier for his spirit to pass on.  All of us were so touched by this gesture and by the very simple ceremonial touches after his passing....a toast to his life with sparkling cider served to all of us and candlelight in the entry foyer that would be left on for a certain amount of time to honor him.

This is the kind of dignity and honoring of human life that would only occur at a place like Hopewell House. I’ve experienced hospice care for several friends and family over the years in the institutional settings of hospitals and nursing homes and found it to be lukewarm, at best, and impersonal. During those times, I wished that there were more places like Hopewell House.

If Hopewell House were to close it would absolutely be a great loss for our community. It’s a valuable treasure in our extended communities that should be sustained

Linda Martin