Hospice Society making push in Strathmore

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Cheadle Lions Club along with the Wheatland and Area Hospice Society saw a need last spring to build a hospice to meet the demand of the growing seniors population and the limited care in the county and area.
The society wants to launch an awareness campaign and work with the provincial government and Alberta Health Services to increase the availability of hospice and palliative care in the communities.
“It initially started with Sonny (Warrack) and his mother-in-law,” said Judy McLean, society member.
“All of us have had people die in Strathmore in either palliative or in home and have seen the benefit of hospice. Strathmore only has one palliative care bed, so if there is more than one person dying, they have to go somewhere unknown.”
The hope is to build a facility that can house eight to 10 beds
The committee visited several Calgary and Okotoks facilities, and now know they have to spend between $1 and 2 million to build a hospice centre. So far $100, 000 have been accumulated.
“It’s received very good support so far from a lot of people,” said Keith Clayton, Wheatland and Area Hospice Society president.
“It’s going to take a lot of volunteers that carry a fair amount of knowledge. We’ll take volunteers that don’t have the knowledge for various things but we’re going to need people with building experience, government, communication and architects.”
The next step will be to continue fundraising through private donations, community fundraising, grants and Alberta Health Services.
Additionally a needs assessment needs to be done which in turn will determine what funds and policies will be needed.
The hospice facility is expected to be built within the next five years.