Hospice of the Fisher Home will reopen Feb. 1, and that is welcome after a fire nearly six months ago severely damaged the building at 1165 North Pleasant St. in Amherst.
It could have been worse. Firefighters arrived soon after the smoke alarms began sounding in the early evening of July 22, and within 15 to 20 minutes extinguished the fire which had broken out in the ceiling above the kitchen. All six residents were taken from the hospice safely, and no injuries were reported.
But the building’s roof was badly damaged, fire burned the building’s back wing, and there was water and smoke damage throughout. The Pioneer Valley was left without its only 24-hour residential hospice – a place where people in the final months of their lives had found comfort.
The disruption also took its toll on the Fisher’s Home staff of about two dozen – including a doctor, nurses, nursing assistants, social worker and counselor — and 50 or so volunteers, some of whom went to care for the displaced hospice residents who were moved to the New England Health Center in Sunderland.
“They were pulled apart after years of working under one roof together,” executive director Elizabeth Weissbach said earlier this month. “It is a work of love. The physical repairs, that’s the outer shell. What is at the inner core is love, compassion and caring … It makes you want to be here.”
The hospice got lots of love back from the community as it recovered from the fire. Soon after, Weissbach reported that an “overwhelming” number of supporters offered help. Insurance money and a $35,000 grant from the Beveridge Family Foundation paid for replacing the Fisher Home’s entire roof, which had been leaking even before the fire.
And Evan and Cinda Jones of W.D. Cowls provided a discount on building materials as repairs were made, as well as new kitchen cabinets. “The kitchen is absolutely beautiful,” Weissbach said. “The star attraction is the cherry cabinets. Cowls came through with a sale price. We never could have afforded those.”
That is particularly welcome because just before the fire, the Fisher Home’s old cabinets had been repainted, and a donor had paid to have the flooring replaced with bright blue tiles.
The fire gave the hospice a chance to educate the community about its at-home care which was not as well known as the residential program. Fisher Home staff provide the same hospice services to area residents who want to remain in their own home, including medical supervision, nursing care, emotional support and practical help.
Weissbach said the Fisher Home is now caring for 10 patients in their own homes, adding that the “program has taken off since the fire.”
The renovated Fisher Home will be on display during an open house between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Jan. 30. There will be tours to show off the renovations, including rooms for residents repainted in soothing blues and greens. Staff also will offer information sessions that day.
The six residents who were displaced in July have died or been discharged. Several people are on the waiting list to move into Fisher Home when it reopens next month, and about half of the hospice’s nine beds remain available. Inquiries are welcome by calling the Fisher Home at 413-549-0115 or emailing hospice@fisherhome.org.
When the new residents arrive, they will find something more than a rebuilt home. Fire did not damage the spirit of the Fisher Home. Soon after the fire, certified nursing assistant Maribel Hammond described it this way: “When it comes down to it, it’s a building, but what we do in it sets us apart. When people think of hospice, they think of dark, dreary halls and sadness. But there are embraces and laughter there, too. It’s a beautiful place, and a beautiful thing that we have.”