Who we serve

Porta Caeli House provides a home and compassionate care for the terminally ill and their loved ones, as well as a place of emotional, spiritual, and social support.

All you need is a need

Porta Caeli House guests are served regardless of race, illness, faith or financial status. Services are provided at no charge.

Our mission is to provide an environment dedicated to helping achieve the highest quality of living throughout our guests’ last days. Each guest is provided with the following:

• Private bedroom with individual heating and cooling controls, along with a private patio
• Overnight accommodations for an adult family member
• Personal hygiene and meals
• Assistance with transfers, repositioning, eating, and medications
• Simple meals can be prepared and served to the guest at any time per request
• Following the hospice agency’s plan of care

Our home, your family

Our staff will care for your loved one 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You are welcome to assist with this care as much or as little as is comfortable.

Immediate family members and loved ones are welcome at Porta Caeli House at all times.

Each guest room is furnished with a comfortable twin size sleeper sofa so an adult family member can stay overnight if desired. A shower for family use is also available and is located near the north Great Room. All bedding, towels and toiletries are provided; simply ask one of our staff for any of these items.

Porta Caeli for care, hospice for medical

Porta Caeli provides care just as a family would for a loved one. We are not a licensed medical facility, nursing home or hospice program.

For this reason, guests must be enrolled in a hospice program before being admitted to Porta Caeli House, and have a Do Not Resuscitate order (DNR) in place. The guest’s hospice program dictates the medical plan of care and other hospice services.

Porta Caeli House provides 24-hour, compassionate end-of-life care to guests and families from all walks of life.

What is Porta Caeli House?

Porta Caeli House is what is known as a “social model hospice home”. Social model hospice homes fill a critical gap which is unmet by state and government funding or private insurance, by providing loving care for the dying in the last month of life. Community-supported homes like Porta Caeli House are an extension of the guest’s home, providing 24-hour physical, spiritual and emotional support to the dying individual and their immediate circle.

What is the cost of admittance to Porta Caeli House?

Services are provided at no charge.

Do guests have to be Catholic to be admitted to Porta Caeli House?

No!

Does Porta Caeli House provide medical treatments to guests?

Porta Caeli House is not a licensed medical facility, nursing home, or hospice program. The guest’s hospice program dictates the medical care plan and other hospice services.

Who is eligible for admission to Porta Caeli House?

• Diagnosed as terminally ill, enrolled in a local participating hospice program, and has a life expectancy of one month or less
• Has a signed “Do Not Resuscitate” form
• Guest’s needs do not require care in a hospital or nursing setting, do not exceed Porta Caeli House capabilities
• Guest and designated family caregiver agree on a purpose of admission and plan of care, including length of stay
• Guest and/or loved ones behavior does not present a danger or is disruptive to self and/or others
• Guest weight cannot exceed 250 lbs.

What are the practical implications of implementing the Ethical and Religious Directives (“Catholic teaching”) at Porta Caei House?

Our purpose is neither to hasten death nor cause patients to linger unnecessarily when they are terminally ill. If a person can be fed, AND can benefit from feeding, it is morally obligatory to feed that person. This moral obligation takes precedence over the person’s advance directive that might otherwise refuse beneficial and life-sustaining feedings. Determination of benefit varies from case to case, and includes medical, personal, and spiritual benefit.

Withholding nutrition and hydration must never be the cause of death. For people within hours or days of unavoidable death, it is often true that they may not benefit from feeding, and the withholding of nutrition and hydration would not be the cause of death.

How do I pronounce “Porta Caeli”?

Port-uh Chay-lee Howse

What does Porta Caeli mean?

Porta Caeli means “Gate of Heaven” in latin.

Since 2017, Porta Caeli House has shown Christ’s merciful love to guests and their families in a loving environment, enables dying with dignity, and helps to demonstrate within our community that dying is the natural conclusion of life on this earth, not something to be feared or avoided.

Porta Caeli House offers a place where the terminally ill can live out their remaining days in a comfortable, loving, caring and dignified manner.

There are many emotional, physical and financial factors that enter into end-of-life care. There comes a point where not every family or caregiver can continue to meet these needs.

Hospitals, physicians, or hospices refer their patients to Porta Caeli House for palliative end-of-life care – in other words, care that neither hastens nor prolongs the last days of life. Porta Caeli House provides individual rooms, meals and personal care.

If you are suffering from the loss of a loved one and need support, please join us. You do not have to grieve alone.

Professional referrals available.

Each date is free to attend. No registration is required, but we would appreciate knowing beforehand if you plan to attend. Click here to let us know you’re coming!

Upcoming group dates:

January 17, 2025, from 2:30 pm to 4 pm

February 21, 2025, from 2:30 pm to 4 pm

March 14, 2025, from 2:30 pm to 4 pm

If you have questions, please contact cbarzellone@cceok.org.

Volunteers from all faiths and all backgrounds complete the Porta Caeli House family and contribute to our home in a variety of ways, from volunteering their time as professionals to simply providing comfort and companionship to Porta Caeli guests and their families.

Volunteers help us fulfill our mission of extending Christ’s love to those in need through compassionate end-of-life care, when dying at home is not an option.

Our volunteer opportunities include:

• Front Desk Reception
• Preparing and serving lunch or dinner
• Caregiving
• Companionship
• Clerical
• Garden and Grounds
• Special Skills
• Household and cleaning

Bring them a meal

Help keep food on the tables at Porta Caeli House by volunteering to provide meals to our guests.

    Sign up to bring lunch or dinner

Questions about volunteer opportunities?

Contact our volunteer coordinator at (918) 935-2604 or fill out the form below.

Porta Caeli House staff brings compassion and care to our home with a variety of backgrounds. They are united by their passion to help guests and families in their transition from this life.

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