She told the government that either the administrator had to be dismissed or the Sisters would return to Syracuse. She was given charge of the overcrowded hospital. Her return to Syracuse to re-assume governance of the congregation was delayed, as both the government and church authorities thought she was essential to the mission's success. Two years later, the king awarded Cope with the Cross of a Companion of the Royal Order of Kapiolani for her care of his people. The work continued to increase. In November 1885, Cope opened the Kapiolani Home with the government's support to provide shelter to homeless female children of leprosy patients. The home was located on a leprosy hospital's grounds because only the Sisters were willing to care for children so closely associated with people suffering from leprosy. In 1887, a new government came into office. It ended the forced exile of leprosy patients to Molokai and closed the specialty hospital in Oahu. A year later, the authorities pleaded with Cope to establish a new home for women and girls on the Kalaupapa peninsula of Molokai. She accepted the call, knowing that it might mean she would never return to New York. "We will cheerfully accept the work…" was her response. Molokai In November 1888, Cope moved to Kalaupapa. She cared for the dying Father Damien, SS.CC., who was already known internationally for his work in the leper colony and began to take over his burdens. She had met him shortly after her arrival in Hawaii. When Father Damien died on April 15, 1889, the government officially gave Cope a charge for the care of the boys of Kalaupapa and her current role in caring for the colony's female residents. A prominent local businessman, Henry Perrine Baldwin, donated money for the new home. Cope and two assistants, Sister Leopoldina Burns and Sister Vincentia McCormick, opened and ran a new girls' school, which she named in Baldwin's honor. A community of Religious Brothers was sought to come and care for the boys. After the arrival of four Brothers of the Sacred Heart in 1895, Cope withdrew the Sisters to the Bishop Home for leprous women and girls. Joseph Dutton was given charge of Baldwin House by the government. Death Cope died on August 9, 1918, due to natural causes. She was buried on the grounds of the Bishop Home. In 2005, her remains were brought to