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Tara Home
Tara Home, a project of the Land of
Medicine Buddha, is a residential home for the dying with around the clock
hands-on care provided by a family of volunteer caregivers.
Tara Home acts as the family for people who do not have family nearby to
provide support and care while they are dying.
Tara Home is currently housed in a cabin at the Land of Medicine Buddha
in Soquel. Each client must be a
part of the Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz before they are accepted into
the program, as medical care is provided by Hospice. The dying person can be from any denomination and will be
chosen based on need and established criteria. Caregivers are volunteers who are
willing to give 5-10 hours a week to the project, when assigned to a Tara Home
patient. There are trainings for the volunteer caregivers and bi-weekly meetings
to provide updates and support. Additional
volunteers help with errands, shopping, laundry and cleaning.
Tara Home encourages people of all denominations to participate in any
way they can. The project provides care for people from throughout the
Santa Cruz community. If you would like to offer service as
one of the volunteer caregivers, please contact: Tara Home, a project of Land of
Medicine Buddha, is a home for terminally ill individuals in their last few
months of life. Around-the-clock care is provided by a “family” of trained
volunteers. Tara Home is currently housed in a cozy cabin nestled in the
redwoods at the Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel, California. Tara Home offers a place to live and
compassionate care for those who have no family or friends to take care of them
and/or cannot remain in their own homes. We accept applicants regardless of
religious denomination and will make every effort to meet the individual’s
spiritual needs. To be accepted into Tara Home, the
resident must be a patient of Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz County (HCP)
and meet their criteria for admission. HCP provides medical, nursing, social and
spiritual services, as well as medical equipment and medications and will create
a plan of care for the resident of Tara Home. Volunteer caregivers are drawn from the community-at-large, and are able to offer 4-8 hours a week in service to the dying. They receive an initial training including hands-on care, emotional and spiritual needs of the terminally ill and an understanding of the dying process. Additional education is provided in meetings once or twice a month. Other volunteers are available for support services, such as errands, laundry, cleaning, massage and acupuncture. ADMISSION POLICIES 1. The
resident must be a patient of HCP. Their criteria include a prognosis of six
months or less: patients must be finished with aggressive treatments for their
disease. HCP provides palliative care and symptom management. A referral to HCP
can be made by calling their Admissions Department at (831)430-3000. 2. Tara
Home can accept residents during the last three months of life; however,
admission must take place before the patient is actively dying. 3. The
resident and their family must abide by the general rules that apply to guests
of Land of Medicine Buddha, such as, smoking is only permitted outside in
designated areas. 4. Patients
with violent behaviour, who are noncompliant or who would require a higher |
