BUTLER TWP — Visiting Nurses Association of Western Pennsylvania will no longer offer inpatient hospice care in Butler. However, hospice care will still be available at the facility in the township.

VNA Inpatient Hospice is an affiliate of Lutheran Senior Life that provides senior living communities and care options for seniors and community-based health, wellness and social services in Western Pennsylvania.

“It (inpatient hospice care) will be changed over to another part of Lutheran Senior Life,” said Margie Walsh, executive director for VNA, Western Pennsylvania. “What they have done is continued to dedicate part of the building to provide inpatient level of care.”

A portion of the inpatient hospice, at 115 Technology Drive, is undergoing renovations through Lutheran Senior Life to be repurposed into a specialty skilled nursing facility. Rooms dedicated for inpatient hospice care will remain available for contract agreements.

Walsh said the VNA Inpatient Hospice stopped accepting patients as of Monday due to renovations.

Inpatient hospice is for patients who need 24-hour nursing care in a comfortable, homelike environment.

The left portion of the building — the site for the renovations — has not been used since the $5 million, 24-bed inpatient facility opened in 2010.

“You’re first response is, ‘Why are they doing this?’ But the whole section for nine years sat empty,” Walsh said. “It’s a shell.”

Initially, the facility started with 12 hospice beds with plans to expand.

On average, six of the 12 beds have been filled since opening, she said, adding that it is not cost-effective. A patient stay is about three days.

Renovations include changes to the main center area, which is the common room, as well as the addition of a kitchen and dining area, which is a requirement for a skilled nursing facility, she said.

The renovations will begin after the VNA cares for its last patients, she said.

The inpatient hospice unit will no longer be operating under the VNA, she said. However, the single rooms and the family room will remain for other hospice facilities that contract with the facility.

The VNA has been licensed as a certified hospice regency for almost 40 years, she said.

“I am extremely pleased that Lutheran Senior Life felt strongly about what we were doing here and took it into consideration as their option,” she said. “It’s a win-win for the community and for Luther (Senior Life), and us to be able to serve more.”

Inpatient hospice care was only a small portion of the VNA’s services, she said. The VNA will continue to offer home care services, which includes hospice care.

“People think we are closing, but we are not,” she said. “VNA hospice is still strong and will continue to be a leader in our industry and committed to our community.”