Winter 2006
Enso House provides physical and emotional support in a home setting
to people of all faiths who are facing terminal illness. Inspired by
traditional Zen Buddhist practice, we encourage and support
personal efforts to deepen spiritually at the end of life.
The Work
Enso House continues to evolve and grow. The heart of the work is dynamic and profoundly instructive. The following gives a brief overview of our activity since receiving our first guest in 2003:
Our referral base has expanded to include Whidbey, Seattle and Anacortes area hospitals and hospices, while Whidbey General Home Health and Hospice Nurses remain an integral part of the care giving team.
The majority of our guests require continuous twenty-four hour bedside care, and the presence of a licensed MD or RN for the management of medications. Because Enso House is a fully insured and licensed Adult Family Home, with an on-site physician and certified core caregivers, we are able to provide appropriate, timely, and effective comfort focused medical care.
The monks and community of Tahoma One Drop Zen Monastery, and the spiritual parishes of Whidbey Island, enhance our commitment to integrate spirit with caregiving. Guests and loved ones have been offered Christian, Buddhist, Shamanic, and silent prayers, Episcopalian, Lutheran, and Mormon bedside services, after-death ritual bathing and three day bedside vigils. During Tahoma Monastery’s annual September meditation retreat, a special memorial service is held to honor each person who has died at Enso House. The fifty retreat participants attend the services lead by the energetic visionary of Enso House, Shodo Harada Roshi, Abbot of Tahoma Monastery.
Providing a nourishing environment for family and friends has proven to be as important as our attention to their loved one. Various sleeping arrangements and accommodations continue to be available for friends and family to stay at Enso House for extended periods of time.
We welcome you to come by for tea and a tour of Enso House. Simply give a call before hand.
Support Staff
The committed and caring Enso House volunteers have been instrumental in providing shift relief, delicious meals, and help with all sorts of general tasks. They are invaluable when it comes to fundraising and offering guests a range of amenities from healing touch, pet and art therapies, to haircuts, knitting lessons, and play time for grandchildren.
Sixteen new volunteers attended the general Enso House volunteer training in March, and this October, nine people completed "Fundamentals of Caregiving", the state-mandated course for those who want to assist in direct patient care. Certified Enso House staff teach both courses, which we anticipate offering again in 2007.
Volunteers meet the first Saturday of every month to touch base, offer support and continue volunteer education. In addition, all are welcome to gather Friday mornings for an hour of meditation in the Enso House zendo.
If you would like more information, or if you would like to participate in either of the above mentioned programs, please contact us.
The Story Project
The Enso House Story Project is a way of honoring the stories of those who have lived and been cared for here at Enso House. We believe that such positive and enlightening stories about death and dying, about life and spirituality, about service and compassion, will serve to educate the public and enhance the ongoing mission of Enso House.
We invite you to share your Enso House experiences with us, including stories, reflections, and comments, as well as photographs, poems and artwork. Feel free to send us your contributions, or we would be glad to interview those of you who would like to contribute, but aren’t sure as to how. Your contributions will be compiled into an ongoing history of Enso House and may be used in a variety of ways, such as training materials, educational publications, brochures, and grant proposals – and perhaps, some day, a book. If you would like to contribute, please contact us.
Core Caregivers
From Tahoma Monastery and Sogenji, Shodo Harada Roshi's monastery in Japan, attentive caregivers commit to a six-month rotation at Enso House, during which time they complete the Certified Nursing Assistant Program at Skagit Community College. Their presence makes the care at Enso House exceptional. We are profoundly grateful to all who have given their time. We also invite inquiries from licensed professionals, especially RN's, MD's, and DO's, who might be interested in a short term volunteer work-stay at Enso House.
Caregiver Retreats
The 2007 Caregiver Retreats will be held at Tahoma One Drop Monastery from 9:30 AM to 3 PM on the following Saturdays: March 17th, May 19th, July 21st and October 20th. The retreats are intended to give professional and non-professional caregivers a chance to relax and recharge. There is no fee but donations are welcome. If you would like to receive more information or a registration reminder and are not already on the caregiver retreat email tree, please call (360) 331-4699.
The House
There was a lot of activity around the house over the spring and summer. The Tahoma Monastery and Enso House staff installed a French drain, painted the barn, repaired roof shingles, refurbished the rail fence, replaced gutters, the furnace and the washing machine.
At present, the winter garden is flourishing and the entryway garden is sleeping, safe and sound, behind its deer fence, and under an unexpected blanket of brilliant snow.
Gifts and Grants
We gratefully acknowledge the grants received this year from The Soroptimists, The South Whidbey Eagles Auxiliary, The South Whidbey Rotary Club, and The Kiwanis.
The beauty and success of Enso House can be attributed to the support of amazing people, hours contributed, funds donated, and monies granted since even before the official founding of Enso House. To list all who have been involved would take pages, yet we are deeply appreciative to each and every one.
Enso House Wish List
Any gifts, donations or grants you or your organization would like to make are tax deductible and deeply appreciated.
Ann Cutcher, MD, Director
Enso House
6339 Wahl Rd. Freeland, WA 98249
Tel: 360-331-4699 Fax: 360-331-1525