Hospice: Compassionate end-of-life care in a Home-Like Setting

Hospice is not about dying.  It is about living life to its fullest in the most meaningful way possible.

A residential hospice offers an alternative for people who are unable to or do not wish to die at home but do not require hospitalization. The hospice cares for patients and their families and friends who are dealing with a terminal illness, providing comfort, support, and pain management. Patients are able to die with dignity in a home-like setting.

Hospice services are non-denominational, culturally sensitive and offered at no cost to the patient or family. The palliative care team includes doctors, nurses, personal support workers, counselors, and volunteers who provide a range of medical and support, services around the clock. Friends and family members are encouraged to visit with their loved ones at any time and to participate in their end-of-life care. The patient rooms include comfortable living spaces for family members to stay day or night.

The Chatham-Kent Hospice will be a 10 bed residence located on land owned by St. Andrew’s Residence.  The residential hospice will include private bedrooms, indoor and outdoor family/social spaces with additional space for bereavement counselling, a resource library, and meeting rooms. By collaborating with St. Andrew’s Residence through the sharing of administrative resources, the hospice will be able to reduce operating costs, however, all hospice direct services – both medical and non-medical – will remain separate and completely focused on end-of- life care.

Our goal is to raise $5 million; $3 million to build the residential facility and $2 million for an Operational Sustainability Fund. The Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network is supporting the Chatham-Kent Hospice by providing $920,000 in annual operating funding once the residential hospice is open. The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has pledged $1.5 million in matching funds to start in 2015 and to be spread over five years.  As of April 2014, the community has raised the $1.5 million to match the municipal pledge but we still have $2 million to go and need the community’s support now to get the hospice built and the doors open.

We also will need volunteers – lots of them! Volunteers are vital to the success of any hospice and will be needed in a variety of capacities from bedside volunteers to volunteer cooks, receptionists, housekeepers, or gardeners just to name a few.

Please consider how you can support our community hospice!

For more information visit Chatham-Kent Hospice

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