Four Tides Hospice Society representatives filled in qathet Regional District directors on efforts being made by the society to provide a hospice facility for the region.
At the November 27 regional district board meeting, Anna Byrne, hospice society client and volunteer coordinator, said the society serves three groups of people in the community, including people who have received a terminal diagnosis or life-limiting diagnosis. The society also supports their loved ones and the people who are caregiving for the individual with a terminal diagnosis. Thirdly, the society helps people in the community who are grieving, she added.
All the society’s services are free of charge and are confidential.
“Right now, we have about 50 active volunteers who provide different services,” said Byrne. “For example, one of the things we do is match our volunteers with clients on a one-to-one basis to provide support. They do this for people in their homes, on the fourth floor of the hospital, and both long-term care facilities.”
Byrne said the vision is for a community where people along that spectrum of end of life are supported and connected to the community, and have quality of life. She said multiple programs are delivered throughout the year and that the society is seeking grant funding from the regional district to help underwrite the programs.
Society president Malerie Meeker said there has been hospice in Powell River for more than 30 years, and that the hospice society became a registered charity in 2014.
“People are confused about what hospice is versus palliative care,” said Meeker. “Palliative care is the pain management from the doctors and nurses, and for personal care. Hospice care is the hard work, which is social, emotional and spiritual. When palliative care and hospice care work together, it’s fantastic. Unfortunately, we don’t really have that capacity here in Powell River.”
Meeker said the society is planning to have a standalone hospice facility in this community, which will bring palliative care and hospice together. She said palliative care is part of the medical system and is funded. Hospice care is not.
“All the programs we provide are funded through grants and donations,” said Meeker. “However, if we build a hospice house, then Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) will operate a hospice house. We signed a memorandum of agreement with VCH on October 31, which now gives us the go-ahead. The full-on hospice fundraising campaign starts January 1.”
Meeker said the society needs to locate property. Originally, VCH wanted the hospice on the local health care campus.
“We were always a little nervous about that,” said Meeker. “A hospice is not a medical facility. In the post-COVID world, we now have the ability to build a hospice anywhere in the community.”
Meeker said ideally, it would be somewhere close to qathet General Hospital.
“We are looking to raise approximately $5 million to build the hospice house,” said Meeker.”
Electoral Area C director and board chair Clay Brander said he appreciated the good work the hospice society was doing.
City of Powell River director Cindy Rob Southcott asked if the fundraising would be similar to the campaign that provided a CT scanner for the hospital. Meeker said the new fundraising campaign would be coordinated to organize events that would generate significant donations for the hospice house.
City director Cindy Elliott asked if the $5 million figure included property on which to build the hospice house. Meeker said that sum was for the building alone.
At the regional board meeting, directors voted to contribute $2,700 for general operating costs for Four Tides Hospice Society.
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