Hospice Halifax’s south end facility to open this spring
Posted Feb 18, 2019 03:50:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
After about a decade of planning, Hospice Halifax is on the verge of opening a new residence in the south end.
The 15,000-square-foot building is scheduled to open on April 8 with 10 beds to provide end-of-life care for people living with a terminal illness.
“The facility is located on a corner lot on the grounds owned by the Atlantic School of Theology on Francklyn Street,” said the organization's CEO Gordon Neal. “It has a view of the Northwest Arm. It's a lovely residential and quiet area.”
Hospice Halifax expects to welcome around 150 patients a year who aren't able to remain at home, but don't need to be in a hospital, along with their extended family, friends and peers, who will also have access to support.
The team wil include physicians, nurses, social workers, bereavement counsellors and around 100 volunteers.
“This is a very important family time in people's lives, and I think it's something that has been missing in our continuum of care,” explained medical director Dr. Stephanie Connidis. “We can actually help people who really would love to die at home, but can't.”
Halifax Regional Council provided $500,000 in funding for the facility, with another approximately $6-million coming from fundraising efforts and private donations.
The services will be free of charge and Neal says $2-million will be needed yearly to operate the hospice, around half of which will come from the Nova Scotia Health Authority.
“The other million dollars a year needs to be raised every year in the community,” Neal told NEWS 95.7's Todd Veinotte. “The challenge going forward to be sustainable is to have revenue sources that guarantee we have that million dollars coming in.”
Hospice Halifax will start accepting requests for assessment from healthcare providers on March 27.
In general, eligible patients must:
- have a predicted life expectancy of three months or less
- have a Palliative Performance Scale score of 50 per cent or less
- be 16 years of age or older; Patients will be considered on a case-by-case basis with the IWK Health Center
More information can be found at www.hospicehalifax.ca.
