ABOUT US

Pathway Home’s mission is to provide a home-like environment for terminally ill persons in need of twenty-four-hour care.  Our goal is to provide our residents and their families with quality care and emotional support.

Funding for daily operating expenses is dependent on donations, fundraising, and grants.
In order to sustain our services to those we care for, we discuss the cost of care with our residents and families and we ask for donations in relation to the length of stay. A suggested donation pledge based on monthly income is used as a guideline. No one is ever turned away for an inability to contribute. We are working on building a scholarship fund to help those who are unable to make a donation to Pathway Home.
Times are hard in our local economy and donations in general are down. We are always endeavoring to keep our services affordable for our residents and families by reaching out to new donors and coming up with innovative ideas for raising funds.

A Brief History

In 2009 a group of individuals came together to discuss the need for a comfort care home in Seneca County.  Several of the members of this group were Seneca County residents who worked for the local hospice program and had seen the need for this service first hand. Pathway Home was developed based on other comfort care home models currently operating in the Finger Lakes.

In October, 2015 a home was purchased in the town of Tyre on State Route 414.  The renovations have been completed and the home received its certificate of occupancy in October 2016.

Pathway Home accepted its first resident on February 28, 2017.

What is a Comfort Care Home?

Comfort Care Homes all work on the same model – caring for two people at a time with the help of trained volunteers and staff; providing care at no cost to the resident or their family. A Hospice or Certified nursing agency supports the care with nursing, social work, and chaplain visits. Each Home for the Dying acts independently, choosing from the list of referred patients based on their own assessment of who has the greatest need of their help. When a home is interested in offering a bed to a prospective resident, the director of the house will come out to interview the person, bringing pictures of the house to help the person understand what the house is like. Tours of the home will also be available for prospective residents and their families

 What is the difference between Hospice and Pathway Home?

Hospice is a certified home health agency that implements the hospice philosophy. The certified Hospice receives insurance reimbursement, where Pathway Home is not an agency or facility and does not receive insurance reimbursement. We are a home, where the staff and volunteers are considered the resident’s “extended family,” and provide 24-hour care, seven days a week to two persons who are on services with Hospice. Pathway Home relies totally on the community for support. Our only income comes in the forms of memorials, donations, fundraising revenues, and grants.

Admission to Pathway Home

Admission to Pathway Home is based solely on need, regardless of religion, age, sex or race. The prospective resident must desire comfort care, have a medical prognosis of three months or less. Pathway Home is unable to accept every person who is referred and can only care for up to two dying residents at one time. Each case is evaluated carefully by the nurses and priority is given to those people who have the greatest need at the time; i.e., those who are at home with limited adequate care giving support. Other considerations involve the complexity of nursing care that some people may require.

Pathway Home is not a hospital or nursing home. We do not use IV fluids or feeding tubes and each resident must have a signed DNR (do not resuscitate). It is not uncommon to have multiple people waiting for the next available bed. When a bed is available, our team evaluates all who are waiting, and choose the one who has the greatest need; not who is next on the list for admission.

How are referrals to Pathway Home received?

Referrals are welcomed from area hospitals, physicians, social workers, case managers, discharge planners, clergy, friends and family members, neighbors and certified home health agencies such as Lifetime Care Homecare and Hospice or Finger Lakes Visiting Nurse Service, Ontario- Yates Hospice.

What if my loved one who is residing at Pathway Home lives beyond three months?

At times there may be remission of a person’s disease, and it may be necessary to be discharged from Pathway Home to an alternative placement: such as home, or they moved in with a family member, or to a Nursing home. It’s amazing to see, and such a blessing, that with some conditions, proper symptom control management, socialization and tender loving care, people do go into remission and live longer than what was expected. The staff at Pathway Home will work closely with the Hospice team and family to determine the best alternative placement for our resident. Residents may return to Pathway Home and die peacefully when that time is appropriate and a bed is available.

How are we funded?

Pathway Home is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization. The services provided to residents and their families cost approximately $275.00 per day per resident. Pathway does not receive any medical insurance or governmental reimbursement. All financial support comes from memorials, donations, fund-raising events, grants and bequests.

How is the home staffed?

Pathway Home is staffed with a full time Executive Director, a part-time house manager, and two overnight caregivers. Residents will be enrolled in Hospice to provide additional support such as Hospice nurses to consult with for symptom management, social workers, and pastoral care.  A great deal of the hands on care will be provided by trained volunteers.