On the evening of July 22, a fire started in the attic of the Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst. The sprinkler system activated quickly and controlled the spread of the fire but the water damage was extensive.
The Home will be temporarily closed, up to three months for repairs. However, our hospice services for patients in their own homes continues.
Special thanks to the courageous staff on duty who evacuated our patients in a matter of minutes: Maribel Hammond, certified nursing assistant, Lucy Fandel, registered nurse, and Emily Kieras-Goldman, certified nursing assistant. They are heroes, as are the members of the Amherst fire and police departments. A special thank you to Amherst Fire Chief Tim Nelson for the immediate response and for his excellent command at the scene.
We are most grateful for the immediate acceptance of our six patients at the New England Health Center in Sunderland by Administrator John Danforth, and thanks to the Director of Nursing, Robin Martin, registered nurse, and to Deb Houle, licensed practical nurse and nurse manager at NEHC, who have been most helpful in the past few weeks.
Our staff caring for our patients at NEHC have been supported by our wonderful volunteers throughout the past few weeks — thank you to this special corps.
The Gazette article on Aug. 4 captured the relevant facts and the personal reactions of the Fisher Home staff to this sad event and the editorial that followed on Aug. 5 was greatly appreciated.
Last, but not at all least, thanks to the many community members who have come forward to offer their help and are making donations to help us through this troubled time on our website, or are sending checks to the Hospice of the Fisher Home.
Gratitude, thanks, appreciation. I have used these words frequently in this letter, but none of these can adequately express the heartfelt sentiments behind those words, which will last for a very long time.
Elisabeth Weissbach
Amherst
The author is the executive director of Hospice of the Fisher Home.