St. Francis Healthcare System is looking for a 2-acre piece of land to build a 24-bed hospice facility in East Honolulu and hopes to have it up and running in two years.

It would be St. Francis' third hospice facility on O'ahu that specializes in caring for dying patients.

There is a 12-bed facility in Nu'uanu, which bears the bulk of the need from Honolulu, Windward and East O'ahu patients, said Kathleen Sullivan Wo, past chairwoman of St. Francis Foundation, which is the fundraising group for St. Francis Health Care System. Nine years ago, a second facility, the Maurice J. Sullivan Family Hospice Center in West O'ahu, opened a 24-bed facility on the site of the St. Francis West hospital.

About 20 percent of the patients waiting for a hospice bed live in East Honolulu, Sullivan Wo said.

Since the hospice was founded in 1978, more than 13,000 patients have been cared for both at the facilities and with in-home care. The Nu'uanu facility has cared for 2,200 patients and the 'Ewa facility more than 3,000 since they were built. There often is a wait for beds, Sullivan Wo said. Often, more than 55 people wait for a hospice bed. The average length of stay last year was 42 days.

Former state Sen. Buddy Soares, a Hawai'i Kai resident, said his family could have used a site in East Honolulu recently. Two months ago, Soares' wife, Lorraine, 74, got a bed at the Maurice J. Sullivan Family Hospice Center and spent her last week there.

Soares said he slept there every night on a small cot because it was too much to make the drive to and from home.

"The hard part for us was that we were very close," Soares said. "I was with her for the very end. When my wife agreed to go to the hospice center, it was on the condition that I stay with her. I had never been to a hospice center before."

St. Francis Healthcare System is looking from Manoa to Hawai'i Kai for a suitable location, Sullivan Wo said. Conceptual drawings include meditation courtyards and mini-gardens. Art will play a big role in the decor of the new facility to make it more homelike, she said.

The new site also will have a cafeteria and space in each room for a family member to sleep, she said.

"Hospice care is for the patient and for the family," she said. "We feel all these things contribute to a sense of peace and well-being. We want to have hospice in a location that's accessible."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.