LEWISTON – Mechanics Savings Bank directors presented a $15,000 grant to Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice for the Journey of Hope Campaign hospice house. Joining the directors were Beckie Conrad, AHCH board chairwoman, David McDaniel, AHCH president/CEO, and Kim Wettlaufer, AHCH campaign chairman.

Sherwood Moody, bank president and CEO, said, “This gift reinforces two important values of Mechanics Savings Bank. As a community bank we know how important it is to enhance the quality of life in the region we serve. The work of AHCH through the hospice house will make a significant difference in end-of-life care for residents we both serve in central and western Maine.

“We also know as an employer how difficult it can be when an employee is faced with balancing work and caring for a loved one at the end-of-life. We have seen how valuable the support and care provided by AHCH can be. No doubt the hospice house will continue that tradition of care and we are pleased to be a part of it.”

The 14-patient suite hospice house will be located on Stetson Road in Auburn and is expected to open in the summer of 2005. The facility is specially designed to meet the end-of-life care needs of hospice patients and their families in a home-like setting.

In accepting the gift, Wettlaufer said, “We are very grateful to have the support of Mechanics Savings Bank. They have demonstrated their leadership in responding to a number of important community needs and we are truly honored to have their board of directors and staff recognize our agency’s hospice house project as a valued community resource.”

Mechanics Savings Bank has been serving the people of Maine for more than 129 years from its offices in Auburn, Lewiston and Windham. Visit the Web at www.mechanicssavings.com for more information. For additional information about AHCH, visit www.ahch.org.