At first, the experience may seem contradictory. Upon entering the Eaton Community Hospice House in Charlotte most visitors agree that the entrance and view through the foyer and into the woods beyond give feelings of warmth, welcome and comfort.

Yet, at almost any given time, five people are lying in the home’s bedrooms, dying. "There is definitely a special feeling here," said hospice social worker Sharon Harrington-Danos, who has had many patients spend their last days here. "There is just something about this place that is hard to put your finger on. It’s a home. It feels good in here. There is love. There is comfort."

Margaret Kyser, executive director of Eaton Community Hospice, says the feeling comes from the staff. "Their love for everyone just bubbles over."

Patient care worker Cherri Brester agrees. "Even the orneriest person that comes through this door is going to leave giving out hugs," Brester said.

Brester has been with the Hospice House since it opened in 2003. Her husband died of cancer at the end of August 2003, just days before the home opened. Brester serves as the lead patient care worker at the home. "He tried so hard to make it until we opened, but he just missed it," Brester said.

"We are a home, not a medical facility," stressed Kyser. "We get no funding at all from insurances or any governmental programs. Everything we do comes from the community’s support."

Eaton Community Hospice House serves as support for various hospice medical care agencies in the area. Hospice House charges nothing to patients, families or agencies for its services. "The beauty of the way it works is that the patient’s nurse and social worker follow (the patient) here," Kyser said. "Nothing changes for the patient except the location."

As far as requirements for accepting a hospice patient into the home, Kyser said it simply comes down to: "Do we have a bed available?"

She said the Hospice House is filled to capacity about 95 percent of the time. Hospice patients typically come to the home as death becomes imminent, and the average length of stay is 1 1 days.

Kyser said patients move from their own homes to the Hospice House for one of two main reasons — either the care required in the final days of life is too overwhelming for family caregivers to handle on their own or because the patient has no caregiver at home.

Family members and friends of the patients are encouraged and welcomed to visit at any time, day or night.

The home is staffed 24 hours a day, and family members often spend long periods of time with their loved ones. Both Brester and Kyser admit it is sometimes sad to say goodbye to those they have gotten to know during such an emotional time.

"Because the average stay of a typical patient is relatively short, we often don’t get a chance to really get to know them," Kyser said. "It’s the family we often end up closer to."

As is often the case when family and friends gather — particularly during emotional times — the kitchen is a focal point of the Hospice House. Steaming kettles of soup, potato salad, cookies and sandwiches are typical fare.

Often to be found working in the kitchen is 81-year-old Dorothy Smith. She is one of the home’s volunteers who cooks and comes in several times a week. If a family member has a particular fondness for peanut butter pie, she’s got it covered.

On Dec. 5, Eaton Rapids resident Tom Bolan wandered into the kitchen with several family friends in tow. His wife, Evelyn, had come to the home two days before and was staying in one of the north bedrooms.

"Yes, I think I will have something," Bolan said, when asked about lunch. "This is a great place, and you can go ahead and write that down!" he said.

His wife, Evelyn, died two days later.