“We are beyond excited!”  That’s the consensus among HospiceCare, Inc. staff, board members, and volunteers when speaking about their new building.

On Tuesday, June 15 at 1:30 pm, HospiceCare, Inc. held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of their new building on the campus of Mineral Area College.  Fred McDaniel, Executive Director, noted that HospiceCare’s success had definitely been a team effort and believes that success wouldn’t have been possible without the trust that families have placed in them for the past twenty years.

McDaniel acknowledged HospiceCare’s longstanding relationship with Mineral Area College, expressing thanks for MAC’s support - which was present since the very beginning.  McDaniel mentioned that Dixie Kohn, a former President of MAC, was extremely kind and supportive during the time HospiceCare was just starting out.  “From the first day we moved to the campus, Dixie was very gracious to us.”   McDaniel noted as well that working with Dr. Steven Kurtz, current President of MAC, has been “really wonderful.”

Dr. Kurtz is pleased that HospiceCare, Inc. will be staying on campus.  “We’re happy to support an organization that provides such an important service to the community,” said Kurtz.  McDaniel shares the sentiment.  “We’ve always been extremely pleased to be associated with Mineral Area College and hope our relationship with them continues for many years to come.  I guess you could say we have a mutual admiration for each other.”

McDaniel also mentioned the contributions of Reverend James Scobey, who, back in the early 1980’s, consulted community leaders about the concept of hospice and eventually got enough people interested to form a hospice advisory board.  “Reverend Scobey’s contributions were essential to the establishment of what is now HospiceCare, Inc.,” said McDaniel.

In addition to McDaniel and Kurtz, Cara Detring, HospiceCare Board President, also spoke briefly during the ceremony.  Chaplain Jerry Hawkins concluded the ceremony with prayer.  Others in attendance were HospiceCare board members, staff, volunteers and members of the media.

Paul Brockmiller, President of Brockmiller Construction, estimated the building would be completed sometime this fall.  The 8,000 square foot building includes offices, conference rooms and much-needed storage space.  “There are so many things we wanted to do in our current building; we’re just limited by the lack of space,” said McDaniel.  According to Brockmiller, construction of the new building is scheduled to begin later this week, and HospiceCare staff couldn’t be happier.