Chairman of the VNA and Hospice Foundation Ann Marie McCrystal with VNA Hospice Medical Director Richard Cunningham, M.D., the only board-certified Hospice palliative-care physician in the county.
It is a place filled with architectural beauty, contagious kindness, unexpected laughter and quiet goodbyes. The Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Hospice House, tucked in a serene setting of swaying palms and aquatic blossoms, is difficult to think of in end-of-life terms.
Vero Beach is the fortunate location for this one-of-a-kind palliative (comfort) care facility, situated on a secluded, 4.2-acre site surrounded by lush foliage, a pond with a waterfall, gazebo, and numerous meditation areas. “Hospice Houses are becoming more and more popular as Hospice becomes more popular,” says Ann Marie McCrystal, chairman of the VNA and Hospice Foundation. “But there’s not another facility like this one.
“There’s a Hospice House facility that opened two years ago in Fort Pierce. Another particularly lovely one opened in Martin County at about the same time and quickly grew from eight to 16 beds. When the VNA Hospice House opened in May 2000, the nearest such facility was in Stuart,” says Ann Marie, who chaired the facility’s $4.5 million capital campaign.
Read the entire article in the December 2004 issue
True Tails is a series written by Amy Robinson for Vero Beach’s dog lovers. Ask Amy about your dog’s behavior by clicking below.
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