After opening in 2010, the hospice care unit at Jamaica Hospital will be expanding. And thanks to donations from the community, the unit will undergo a $1.2 million renovation as part of the move. NY1's Van Tieu filed the following report from Thursday's groundbreaking.

It was in 2010 when Jamaica Hospital Medical Center opened an in-hospital hospice care unit. It wasn’t too long ago that type of health care was non-existent in the Queens borough. Now, the hospice care unit will undergo a $1.2 million renovation thanks to generous donations from community members like Joseph Ferrara, a hospital board member.

It'll be named the Ferrara Family Center for Hospice Care.

Hospice caretakers, helped his family face the death of his wife nine years ago. That personal experience, he said, makes him feel honored to contribute to the project.

"I know what a wonderful thing hospice is, and the staff that we have in our palliative care unit, they’re so wonderful and they needed a better facility to perform their miracles,” Ferrara said at a ground breaking ceremony on Thursday.

The designs and furnishings of the new hospice wing will feature amenities such as pull out beds and family gathering centers. The goal is to make it feel less like a hospital and more like a home.

"The whole philosophy of hospice is about comfort, and dignity, and respect, and people being with their loved ones. And the best place to be with their loved ones is at home. But unfortunately, some people are so sick that they can’t be a home. So our goal in the hospice unit is to make a home like environment with amenities that you would have at home,” explained Dr. Alan Roth, Chief of Palliative Care Medicine.

Ferrara says the designs are centered around family.  He hopes others will make memories as they say cope with the illness of loved ones in hospice care.

"When a family gathers, no one is reading a script everyone is talking from their heart, from their memories. So, it’s real,” he said.

The$ 1.2 million project is funded through donations. Hospital officials say they've raised about three quarters of the amount, which is enough to start construction next month. They hope to meet their goal in order to completely furnish the new wing within the next six months.

To donate, contact the Development Office at Jamaica Hospital at (718)206-8613.