Request to build 24-bed facility in Bonita ready for review

Planner Tony Palermo said a draft likely won't be ready for a few weeks, but the facility seems compatible with the Imperial Street neighborhood where it's proposed. "I think it's a really great location for a hospice in terms of compatibility and stuff like that," said Palermo. "It's entirely appropriate."

Environmental staffers are working with hospice planners to deal with gopher tortoises that currently call the 9.5-acre lot home, a situation faced by virtually every infill project in Southwest Florida.

"There is a lot of detail, I will say that," said Samira Beckwith, Hope Hospice president.

The organization already has a Bonita Springs office, and Beckwith said in-home care is already being provided. Hospice care involves providing comfort services for terminally ill people diagnosed with six months or fewer to live. It focuses on pain management, symptom control, counseling and death with dignity.

"We've been caring for people in their homes in Bonita Springs for nearly 20 years," Beckwith said.

The organization has facilities in Cape Coral and Fort Myers. Beckwith said small in-community facilities allow people to stay close to home for their final days. The state denied applications by Hope Hospice and another group to begin in-home care in Collier County this summer, a denial Hope has appealed.

It's important to have small facilities in various communities, Beckwith said. When patients reach the point they need to move into a facility, she said, they've had to trek to Fort Myers.

"It's better to keep people close to home," she said. "Our goal has never been to build one large Hope Hospice. We need to be in each community we serve."

Building plans are almost complete, Beckwith said. The organization soon will announce a new $5 million fund-raising campaign to build the new facility.

The zoning application calls for 30,000 square feet of office space and 30,000 square feet of institutional use -- the 24 beds -- in two-story structures. Palermo said the emphasis will be on buffering the parking from the surrounding neighborhoods.

The first hearing has been scheduled before the Bonita Springs Zoning Board Jan. 9. The project will require final approval from the Bonita Springs City Council.