Welcome to Serenity House
Serenity House End-of-Life Care Home provides an alternative care option in a comfortable, home-like setting for hospice patients who are unable to remain in their own homes during the final stages of life. Serenity House is a non-medical residential home designed to serve up to five residents at a time.
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About Serenity House
Friends of Hospice was originally established in 1987 as Hospice of Hamblen County, the first 100% volunteer hospice serving the Lakeway area. Over time, the organization evolved into a support agency that partners with area Medicare-certified hospice providers to assist hospice patients and their families throughout the Lakeway community through Serenity House.
Since 2011, Serenity House End-of-Life Care Home offers an alternative care option in a peaceful, home-like environment for hospice patients who are unable to remain in their own homes during the final stage of life. Serenity House is a non-medical residence that can accommodate up to five residents at a time. Each resident must be under the care of a hospice provider, which delivers professional medical, emotional, and spiritual support as they would in a patient’s home.
Residents typically have a life expectancy of two to three months or less, with the average length of stay being approximately three weeks, and must have a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. Many of the individuals served are those who lack the financial resources to hire in-home care or afford nursing home placement, have caregivers who are elderly, frail, or employed and unable to provide around-the-clock care, or have little to no family support.
A minimal weekly fee of $150 helps cover basic costs such as food and utilities. A sliding scale based on income and liquid assets is reviewed prior to admission, which may adjust the weekly fee up to $1,050. Fees may be reduced or waived for individuals with limited financial resources.
Friends of Hospice/Serenity House serves residents from Hamblen, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hawkins, Jefferson, Knox, and Sevier counties. To date, Serenity House has provided compassionate care for nearly 600 residents. Individuals admitted must reside within a 30-mile radius of the home, as the majority of organizational funding is provided by Hamblen County.
Friends of Hospice is proud to be a United Way of Hamblen County Agency.
The Hospice Philosophy
Hospice is a philosophy of healthcare for people at the end of life, which seeks not to prolong life unnaturally, but to ensure that in the time left to a person with a life-limiting illness is as full and comfortable as possible. The goal of hospice care providers is to provide comfort care in the patient’s home or an alternative setting through physical, emotional and spiritual supportive services when aggressive medical treatment is no longer desired or recommended. Hospice seeks to enhance the person’s quality of life and to provide support for family and other caregivers.
Our Mission
Our mission is to serve area Hospice agencies and the Lakeway
community as advocates through the provision of supportive services for end-of-life and bereavement needs.
Our Vision
At Serenity House, we want to better educate the Lakeway Area on hospice care and to provide needed support to hospice patients and grieving individuals within the community.
Our Values
- To support an atmosphere of respect and dignity to all individuals experiencing end of life.
- To affirm life, and to provide hope and care for the individual and family as they prepare for the end of life of their loved one.
- To providing non-discriminate care to individuals and their families during the period of end of life.
- To provide on-going bereavement support to help individuals who have experienced the death a loved one.
Serenity House's Community Impact
Friends of Hospice of the Lakeway Area, Inc., through Serenity House in Morristown, Tennessee, provides compassionate residential end-of-life and supportive care for individuals who can no longer remain safely at home due to declining health, lack of caregiver support, or financial hardship. Families throughout Morristown and Hamblen County, along with other counties in the Lakeway Area, increasingly face difficult challenges when a loved one requires continuous care. This can include limited residential end-of-life care options, financial barriers to care, and the inability for families to provide 24-hour support at home. Serenity House addresses this critical community need by providing a safe, home-like environment where individuals can receive comfort, dignity, and compassionate care during life’s most vulnerable moments.
The program primarily serves residents of the city of Morristown as well as the Lakeway Area including low-to-moderate income individuals, hospice patients without adequate caregiver support, and families in need of respite or end-of-life assistance. Since opening in 2011, Serenity House has served almost 750 residents. In 2025 alone, the program served 107 residents, with 85% identified as low-to-moderate income individuals, highlighting the organization’s role as a vital safety-net provider for vulnerable members of the community.
Serenity House directly benefits the Lakeway Area by reducing strain on hospitals, emergency services, and families while strengthening the local healthcare spectrum. Residents receive coordinated care through partnerships with regional hospice agencies, healthcare providers, community volunteers, churches, civic organizations, and local donors who collectively support the mission of providing compassionate care regardless of a resident’s ability to pay.
Through its commitment to accessibility and dignity in end-of-life care, Serenity House ensures that residents have equitable access to compassionate services while supporting grieving families and increasing community awareness as well as education about hospice care. The long-term impact of Serenity House extends beyond individual residents by strengthening compassionate care resources for the entire Lakeway Area.
Testimonials
"On behalf of a local hospice in Morristown, we extend our support and gratitude to the Serenity House for the incredible resource it is to our agency and community and for the exceptional care it provides."
"The Serenity House is the only one of its kind in our service area, providing comfort care to patients in a home like environment. This is extremely important for patients who are not able to remain in their own home. We’ve witnessed numerous patients with limited, or no family support live out the remainder of their lives in a peaceful environment feeling loved and valued because of the staff and support services offered at Serenity House."
"Our agency also depends of Serenity House for patients who have financial difficulties. It is very common that we find our patients still living at home who are unsafe and desperately need to be in a facility or hire in-home help, but their finances won’t allow it. Because Serenity House is a non-profit, they are able to accept these patients and proved the care and support each patient deserves."
"Serenity House staff and volunteers not only serve the patients that go there, but they also offer patient’s families and other agencies assistance in providing end-of-life education and bereavement support. These services benefit our entire community."
"As a hospice agency, the Serenity House provides us peace of mind and is an excellent and crucial resource needed in our community. As you can see, they provide much more to patients and to the community than just being a place for a patient to lay their head down at night. hope you will consider funding Friends of Hospice Serenity House so they can continue to be a staple in our community by providing quality patient care as well as community outreach and support.“
"To all the wonderful ladies of Serenity House – There are no words or Thank You’s BIG enough to express our gratitude for all you did for our mother while she was in your care. We will not forget your compassion, kindness, respect and love you showed us all. May God richly bless everyone one of you with His very best blessings. – Teresa Rose Frye and the family of Doris Rose. “
“To the staff at Serenity House — We would like to express our sincere appreciation for the loving care you provided to our dear wife and mother, Lynn Ross in her final days before her passing. The warmth and compassion you showed to her and to us made this very difficult time a little easier. Thank you again. – The Jim Ross Family. “
"To all the wonderful ladies of Serenity House – There are no words or Thank You’s BIG enough to express our gratitude for all you did for our mother while she was in your care. We will not forget your compassion, kindness, respect and love you showed us all. May God richly bless everyone one of you with His very best blessings. – Teresa Rose Frye and the family of Doris Rose. “
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