By Teena Monteleone

Fundraising for hospice

Hospice plans move ahead

Feb 19, 2019 | 1:58 PM

The government of Saskatchewan is throwing financial support behind plans to build a free-standing hospice in Prince Albert. Joe Hargrave, MLA for Prince Albert Carlton, announced a commitment of
$2 million in annual operating funding once the facility is built.

“I think hospices are important not just for Prince Albert but everywhere in this province. They take care of the patient and family and show the empathy that is required,” Hargrave said. “There is a maximum of 10 patients in the hospice and the staff have the time and training to spend with families and loved ones.”

The Rose Garden Hospice would be the first of its kind in Saskatchewan providing end of life care and comfort 24-hours a day to patients with terminal diagnosis. The Rose Garden Hospice Association (RGHA) said the facility will address the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of residents approaching death while licensed medical staff will offer expert pain and symptom management to ensure physical suffering is relieved.

Rose Garden Hospice Association chairperson Marina Mitchell has been gathering support for the hospice since 2008. (Teena Monteleone/paNOW Staff)

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“We are very excited to have the financial support of the provincial government behind us,” RGHA Chairperson Marina Mitchell said. “We can now push forward with the major fundraising campaign for the construction and finally see this dream become a reality.”

The association needs to raise $4 million to cover construction costs. A fundraising campaign kicked off Tuesday with its first significant donation — $500,000 from Prince Albert Canadian Tire store owner and philanthropist Malcolm Jenkins.

Prince Albert Canadian Tire store owner and philanthropist Malcolm Jenkins committed $500,000 to the Rose Garden Hospice. (Teena Monteleone/paNOW Staff)

“I am a businessman and this just makes good business sense,” Jenkins said. “Rather than be in a hospital where there are bed pans clanging in room seven and nurses are busy changing IVs, the folks who are quietly lying there need a different type of care. They need empathy. A hospice gives them that specialized end of life care and frees up beds in the hospital for other patients and reduces wait times.”

The hospice will not be a part of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) but the authority will help the association decide how the money should be distributed.

“We’re hoping for a run on benefit where people who have taken up beds in the hospital will be able to die in an environment that is better for them and there is the ability for us to use those beds for other purposes,” Andrew McLetchie, the vice president of Integrated Northern Health for SHA said.

McLetchie said an aging Saskatchewan population increases the need for palliative care.

“We’re hearing more of a need for it and a recognition of the value hospice provides is why there is an increased focus on it now,” he said.

“We’re going to see this dream become a reality.” _{– Marina Mitchell, RGHA Chairperson}

The RGHA already has 10 acres of land to build on at the corner of Marquis Road and Fourth Avenue West. The property was donated by retired businessman, farmer and life-long Prince Albert resident Fred Trach in 2016.

“We have been waiting a long time for this. We’re not going to give up. We’re going to see this dream become a reality,” Mitchell said.

In the next six months, Mitchell hopes to raise nearly $3.5 million so construction of the hospice can start in the spring of 2020.

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teena.monteleone@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TeenaMonteleone