On Tuesday, February 24, a local group of quilters, led by Palm Coast resident Pam Taylor, donated their 100th hand-sewn quilt to the Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House.  It has taken the ladies nearly two years to sew the 100 quilts.

A self-taught quilter for 20 years, Taylor has since turned her house into a full-service quilting shop – the house’s second master suite is now the quilting room. 

“Quilts are comforting for both the patients and their families,” Taylor said.  “Sometimes it means more to the family members [than the actual patient] to see their loved ones wrapped in a colorful, warm quilt, rather than a cold, hospital-issued blanket.”

Taylor certainly understands the hospice mission; her father was once a hospice patient.

“He was a patient at Florida Hospital Flagler and needed in-patient hospice care before the local Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House was built,” she said.  “After he passed and the Hospice House was built, I knew I wanted to get involved in volunteering. I’ve been volunteering in some fashion ever since the House opened.”

Because of her involvement with HospiceCare, Taylor can appreciate the varying needs of hospice patients. 

“We make the size of the quilts to fit whatever the needs are of the patient – those in wheelchairs, hospital beds, or whatever their specific needs may be,” she said.

JoAnne King, Florida Hospital HospiceCare Administrative Director, said she is honored to be associated with this group of ladies. 

“It gives me such joy to see these community members supporting other community members – people they may never even get a chance to meet,” said King.  “They may not know anything about who receives these quilts, but they do it anyway.”

Some of the fabric is donated by the Sew & Quilt Shop, located at 4601 E Moody Blvd, Bunnell. The store donates one machine-sewed quilt to the cause each month and also has a donation drop-box where people can drop off any unneeded or unwanted fabric for the Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House quilts.

“Cotton clothing has even been used – although it sure was a lot of work to deconstruct all of the clothing in order to be used in the quilt!” Taylor said.

To learn more about Florida Hospital HospiceCare, click here.