by Roy Remer
This past September, the beautiful Zen Hospice Project Guest House reopened after extensive renovations. The striking Victorian at 273 Page Street, circa 1877, provides loving care to people at the end of their lives who choose to spend their remaining time in a caring hospice environment. The San Francisco Zen Center pioneered the hospice movement when it opening in this location in 1990. The Zen Hospice Project has taken over the facility.
The ZHP Guest House is a six bed facility and is recognized around the world for its unique approach to serving persons at the end of life. Zen Hospice’s approach, based on 2,500 year old Buddhist teachings, focuses on compassionate and mindful engagement with residents. In addition to a full professional staff, we train a corps of dedicated volunteers who serve in a wide variety of ways. There are three Volunteer Caregiver shifts throughout the day, seven days a week and Special Skills Volunteers support our kitchen and other functional elements of running the house.
The Hayes Valley neighborhood is integral to the service offered to residents. Family and friends of residents find respite in local restaurants and shops. Guest House residents often visit the Page and Laguna mini park. If there is anything we have learned in this work, it is that everything is changing all the time. We enjoy being part of the positive change that is happening here in Hayes Valley.
We look forward to discovering new ways we can participate in this vibrant community. In addition to the Hospice, there are support groups ready to help people dealing with loss of a loved one. We invite our neighbors to call upon us when they are in need. To learn more about volunteering with Zen Hospice Project or participating in programs, please visit www.zenhospice.org.