A shocking disparity
In the early 1970’s, Helen Zebarth was working as a registered nurse at Winchester Memorial Hospital in Winchester, Virginia. When she visited England in the early 1970s, she witnessed the hospice philosophy for the first time. Although the patients would soon die, many were alert, engaged, and comfortable. “It was incredible to see,” says Helen. She was struck by how different this looked from her experiences with dying patients in the US:
In the US, our terminally ill patients had no quality of life. I watched them wake up in pain, take medications, sleep, just to wake up and repeat the same cycle.
A few years later, Helen’s friend Gail Rodgers faced the death of her father. At the time, hospice services did not exist in the Shenandoah Valley and were little recognized in the United States. Seeing the need, Helen and Gail decided to bring the hospice experience to the region.
In 1981, their determination created the foundation for Blue Ridge Hospice. Starting with just a few volunteers, Blue Ridge Hospice began “brightening life’s journey” for those nearing the end of life. “In the beginning, public health nurses made weekly visits in the home, and I visited patients on the weekend,” says Helen. “Back then, we had a total of 30 patients for the entire year. Fast forward 40 years, and we are caring for an average of 210 patients each day.”
“Together, we are brightening life’s journey.”
Helen Zebarth
Founder, Blue Ridge Hospice
A thriving not-for-profit healthcare organization
Nearly 40 years later, Blue Ridge Hospice is a thriving nonprofit healthcare organization with a robust staff and years of experience providing excellent hospice care to patients in the Northern Shenandoah Valley region. We now provide care to the City of Winchester and counties of Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, Northern Fauquier, and Western Loudoun. Interestingly, our headquarters are located in the very same building that Helen used to work in and where it all began – the former Winchester Memorial Hospital on Cork Street in Winchester, Virginia. In that same location, we have also added an eight-bed Inpatient Care Center. “The community has given us the encouragement and motivation to continue, even as for-profit hospices have moved into the area. I truly appreciate the tremendous support Blue Ridge Hospice has received over the years,” says Helen.
And we have grown in many other ways as well. “Over the years we have added a music therapy program, spiritual support with on-staff chaplains, and a bereavement program with on-staff grief counselors,” Helen says.
While our patients are actively dying, it does not mean their quality of life has to diminish. Our music therapists play at the patient’s bedside, our chaplains have conducted weddings and baptisms, and I once personally saw to it that a patient made it to Ohio for her granddaughter’s wedding.
And we continue to grow, always striving to improve our services even further. Blue Ridge Hospice sets the standard for quality hospice care and is accredited by The Joint Commission. The Joint Commission inspects Blue Ridge Hospice for compliance with Medicare regulations, as well as other rigorous standards, at least every three years.
To this day, Helen Zebarth is still actively involved and serves on the Board of Directors.
