Healing Waters: The Promise of Lake Erie at the New Hospice Care & Community Center

Spend time around any body of water - whether it is a river, lake or ocean - and its calming and soothing qualities quickly become apparent. Water provides a sense of tranquility that helps ease anxiety and tension. 

Patients, families and staff at the David Simpson Hospice House know this well. While many rooms have a lakefront view, not all do. That will change with the construction of the new Hospice Care & Community Center, where all 32 private patient rooms will overlook Lake Erie. 

"Lake Erie can ease the stress families feel when transitioning a loved one to hospice care," says Dawn Corkan, a nurse and shift supervisor for 11 years.  

“Before they arrive to the David Simpson Hospice House, we hear from a nurse in the field or from a hospital that the patient would really like a lakeview room,” Dawn says. “Sometimes we hear a story of why - maybe the patient was boater, a fisherman, or they lived by water, but proximity to the water is significant to them.” 

Not being able to fulfill that request can be heartbreaking. 

“The patient and families are really disappointed when we can’t provide a lake view room,” said Dana Noe, a nurse for 17 years. “Especially if they’ve had a conversation prior to arrival about having a lakeview room and instead, they get a view of the parking lot.  It’s not something they get over quickly - they keep asking throughout the stay.” 

When a lakeview room is not available, team members find creative ways to bring the lake to the patient. “We try to take them outside to listen to the waves, hear the seagulls or feel the breeze on their faces,” Dawn says. 

Some patients bring their own reminders of the water. Dana recalls one patient who grew up by the lake. She brought her wind chimes and a beautiful glass bowl filled with stones from the beach. “That meant everything to her. The water was everything.” 

But it is not just patients and families who benefit - the staff do, too. Whether it is enjoying watching monarch butterflies migrating from Canada or capturing a photo of a sunset, team members embrace the beauty around them.  

“They are phenomenal sunsets,” Dawn says. “We plan to incorporate staff’s sunset photos in the decoration of the new facility.” 

Even when patients are too ill to fully appreciate the view, the lake still provides comfort to families. Its vastness creates space for reflection.  

“Being near the lake provides perspective - that the world is so much bigger than just you,” Dana says. “When they see this beautiful lake, they pause in awe. It’s just something that turns the corner for them -  it conveys the message that it’s all going to be OK.” 

Building the new Hospice Care & Community Center brings us closer to a future where everyone in our community experiences the highest quality of life at the end of life.

The Quality of Life Capital Campaign will help fund this state-of-the-art facility on our existing lakeside property. With 32 private rooms overlooking Lake Erie, every patient and family will have access to the comfort, care, and support they deserve in a setting designed for peace and reflection.