By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

An open house and fundraising event is being held this weekend to benefit a local home that cares for terminally ill guests in their final days.

The Guest House of Fowlerville is a non-profit organization that provides care for people at their end of their lives. Patients need to have a hospice service that provides medical management, but the Guest House provides the custodial care and an environment friendly to families coming in to visit their loved ones. Registered Nurse and certified End of life Doula Jennifer Fargo runs the organization, and said that, as a non-profit, nobody who takes advantage of their service gets a bill. This puts them in a unique spot as the only home of this type in Livingston County. Fargo admitted, however, that they are getting to the point where funds are getting “pretty scarce.”

She told WHMI, “We don’t want to close our doors. Livingston County doesn’t have a hospice home, neither does Genesee County…I believe every community should have a community hospice home because everybody deserves to be loved at the end of life and have a beautiful ending. And not everybody gets that, especially nowadays.”

With a lot of attention on nursing care facilities during the pandemic, Fargo said they monitor and take temperatures according to guidelines, but also see an importance to being with a loved one in their final days. She said, “When things were shut down, we limited to immediately family members only and two visitors at a time. Right now, we are a little bit more lax…Again, we’re opening our home to people that want to spend time with their family at the end of life and I think it’s a shame that so many people have passed away in the hospitals without getting to have family members with them. And to me, that’s super important.”

To help continue their efforts, they are holding an open house and silent auction fundraiser this Saturday, August 15th, from noon to 4pm. Visitors can tour the home, meet and greet with staff, and enjoy lunch. At least 3 different hospice medical management companies have pledged to be there to answer any questions. Additionally, there will be a silent auction to help support their efforts.

The Guest House of Fowlerville is located at 135 Free Street.

For more information visit their website, www.GuestHouseFowlerville.com.