This new 11,300 square foot inpatient hospice facility in Ames, Iowa was designed to provide a dignified and comfortable setting for terminally ill patients and their visitors. The Israel Family Hospice House was the culmination of a community fund raising project to support an extension of services provided by Mary Greeley Medical Center. The facility consists of 12 inpatient rooms for the care of terminally ill patients. Support space for physicians and nursing staff is provided along with administrative space for the Homeward Hospice program. A major portion of the building is reserved for spaces for families and friends of patients to gather. Both patient corridors end in a small seating alcove and a larger family room with seating areas and fireplaces. The main entry contains a larger seating area and an adjacent chapel for family use.Mary Greeley Medical Center wished to provide a comforting environment for patients and families with home-like gathering spaces for personal interaction.A Georgian influenced design was chosen from a number of alternatives presented to the Hospice Board. The style is well recognized and relates appropriately to the primarily elderly patients. It was important to the Hospice Board that interior spaces were developed to avoid the institutional feeling of a traditional hospital.The facility is constructed as a traditional institutional building in order to meet the stringent code requirements of a hospital occupancy. The interior and exterior are finished in a more residential nature to convey the image desired by the Hospice Board.