Hospice of North Idaho says it has broken ground on a $4.2 million Hospice House facility in Coeur d'Alene.

Contractors Northwest Inc., of Coeur d'Alene, is the contractor on the project, which will include a 14,000-square-foot structure that will have 10 private patient rooms and two family suites. Hospice House also will have an activity room, a prayer and meditation area, and family kitchen, dining, and seating areas. The building could be expanded in the future to add another 12 patient rooms, says Paul Weil, executive director of Hospice of North Idaho.

Although Hospice House will provide end-of-life medical care similar to that provided by hospitals, the Hospital House setting will be more homelike, Weil says, adding that the patient rooms will overlook gardens and be exposed to natural light.

Coeur d'Alene architects Rann Haight and Roy Marshall designed the facility, which will be located on a six-acre parcel at 2212 W. Prairie in northwest Coeur d'Alene.

Construction is scheduled to be completed by early next summer.

Hospice of North Idaho provides care, counseling, and support to the terminally ill and their families. The nonprofit currently offers its services on an outpatient basis to patients in their own homes, and works with Kootenai Medical Center to provide inpatient care. Weil estimates it will serve more than 800 patients and their families this year in Kootenai, Shoshone, and Benewah counties.

The nonprofit employs 100 people and has more than 225 volunteers, he says. Hospice House will have 12 full-time employees in its first year, Weil says.

The project is being funded primarily through private donations, and Hospice of North Idaho is within $600,000 of reaching its capital fundraising goal, he says.