Sinai-Grace Hospital, in conjunction with Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care of Michigan, will unveil the state's first inpatient hospice care unit next week, a project developed in part through the dedication of a Wayne State University School of Medicine physician.

The hospital will conduct a VIP sneak peak of the Rhea Heil Seasons Hospice Unit on April 28, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The newly designed 10-bed unit is Michigan's first inpatient hospital hospice unit, and is named after Rhea Heil, chairwoman of the Sinai-Grace Hospital Board, for her dedication to end-of-life issues. Heil shared the dream of establishing such a unit at Sinai-Grace with Robert Zalenski, M.D., director of Palliative Care for the hospital and the Brooks F. Bock Professor of Emergency Medicine for the Wayne State University School of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine.

"When a patient learns she has an incurable, fatal illness, she has entered her final stage of life. This stage requires intense multidisciplinary support, particularly when her suffering is intense, in order to adequately provide relief," Dr. Zalensk said. "The Rhea Heil Seasons Hospice Unit will unite a beautiful and dignified setting with the necessary resources to help a patient meet the challenges she faces in this last part of the journey. It will provide the physical, emotional, psychosocial and spiritual support needed to successfully fulfill the goals of this stage: to reconcile, connect with others, express gratitude and appreciation, and say good-bye."

Such a dedicated facility, in a hospital setting, provides greater peace of mind for patients and their family members, said Dr. Zalenski, who also serves as director of Wayne State University's Center to Advance Palliative-Care Excellence. "By its physical beauty, by the demeanor and dedication of staff, by the gentle, hopeful and encouraging spirit of all, the unit will exude peace and stillness, and provide comfort to body and soul of patient and family."

The unit provides a comforting alternative for patients with hospice diagnosis, including round-the-clock comfort care and time with their families in a home-like setting.

Dr. Zalenski said he decided to focus on palliative care because he doesn't want to see patients and families misinformed about their illness spend their last precious weeks and months "chasing a cure" that doesn't exist. "I would rather help ensure that they have the choice of turning their attention to their deepest and last-chance needs, such as articulating their story, their legacy and experiencing the benefits of saying 'I love you' and 'I'm sorry' to those they care for most."

The new unit at Sinai-Grace was "specifically designed by the Seasons' team to match the environment and atmosphere Seasons brings to their traditional hospice service," said Annemarie Switchulis, chief operating officer of Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care.

Seasons' staff will manage and operate the hospice unit. The staff will use its expertise to help patients meet the challenges of their specific hospice diagnosis, including pain management, open access interventions, spiritual and psychosocial support.

"Having a specialized hospice care unit in our hospital under the leadership of Seasons Hospice is a positive step forward," said Conrad Mallett Jr., president of Sinai-Grace Hospital. "This new unit demonstrates our commitment to the community, and we are pleased to offer this very important service to our patients and their families."

To attend the preview of the unit, RSVP to Denise Fortin by April 23 at dfortin@seasons.org or call (248) 284-1310.