The Inn Between Homeless Hospice Gets a Helping Hand from CNS Hospice
Salt Lake City, UT. Community Nursing Services’ hospice program has made a significant donation to The Inn Between, a new hospice created to serve the area’s homeless population. Since Community Nursing Services (CNS) is a non-profit business, they are usually the recipient of charitable contributions, but in this case, their pharmacy administrator, Origins Pharmacy Solutions, offered a way for the hospice to be the benefactor. Through a campaign called “One for the Least of These”, a portion of CNS’s drug expenditures were donated by Origins to a charity that serves the homeless or displaced children. Kimberly Dansie, VP of Business Development at CNS, said they chose The Inn Between because the homeless population is underserved and One For the Least of These was a way they could meet some of the needs of their homeless community.
CNS was established in 1928 – the state’s first hospice program. It is Utah’s oldest non-profit home health and hospice provider. They have 10 offices from Logan to St. George and reach 93% of Utahns. For the past 5 years, their organization has been crowned the “Best of State” in hospice as they remain committed to their mission: “To create moments and experiences that heal individuals and families, by providing compassionate care, and by putting health, dignity, comfort and well-being first.”
The Inn Between is thrilled to receive the donation just days before they hope to open their doors at the old Guadelupe Schoolhouse in west Salt Lake City on June 1. Kim Correa, Executive Director is heading up the project that has been moving from conception to reality for several years. There is a huge need for this homeless hospice facility. 70 homeless people died in the valley in 2014. In the past, Utah’s homeless would die alone, in a hospital or on the street. Someone would call 911 and the person would be picked up by the coroner and transported to a contracted morgue. “After their ashes sit unidentified on a shelf for 50 years, they are disposed of and nobody would know who they were”, says Correa. “Our vision is to help the person who is homeless and dying to reconnect with family if possible. We will hold a service in our garden and put their name on a plaque right here,” as she points to the brick wall dividing the vacated school and the old Catholic convent where The Inn Between administrative offices are. “We will also post an obituary on our website, which could help people find them even after they die”.
Upon opening, the vast team of volunteers will celebrate a renovated 14,000 sf facility converted to house 20 residents referred from hospitals, outreach programs, or the 4th Street Clinic. CNS’s donation will be used toward the start up costs which present one of their greatest needs at this point. “We need donations for general expenses and volunteers – both skilled and non-skilled workers; especially a lawyer, CPA, and bookkeeper,” says Correa. “We have over 100 volunteers now, but need more to be able to cover all the bases.”
For more information about CNS or The INN Between, visit CNS-cares.org or TheInnBetweenSLC.org.
