Hospice house approved for Bedford County

BEDFORD — A proposed hospice that has received community support over the past several years will locate on an acre of Bedford County land on Falling Creek Road.

County supervisors voted Thursday to approve a special use permit for the 5,000-square-foot facility next to the Bedford Group Homes gymnasium. The operation, to be called Bedford House, would have four rooms with potential for a 3,000-square-foot expansion and four suites.

Bedford Hospice House Inc., a nonprofit based in Bedford, has raised nearly $2 million since 2006 for the hospice. It was originally envisioned for a site in the city of Bedford on Whitfield Drive but the organization recently nixed those plans in favor of the county land.

Supervisors also voted Thursday to amend the county zoning ordinance to allow nursing homes, which include hospice care, in agricultural zoning districts with rural preserve through permits. They later approved a lease agreement with the organization.

The facility would be licensed under the state’s Department of Social Services as an assisted living facility, but would only provide end-of-life care.

Bedford City Councilman James Vest spoke in favor of the hospice Thursday. He said his late wife, Martha, received hospice care at home when she died five years ago.

“Had Bedford had a hospice house, it would have been easier on all of us,” Vest said.

“This would be a wonderful thing to fall back on,” said Rev. David Henderson, who also spoke in its favor. “In case you need it, it’s there.”

Jacqueline Wente, the nonprofit’s president, said the facility would offer licensed medical care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.