From left to right: Marina Mitchell, Jim Brown, Ravi Prakash, and Ralph Boychuk pose for a photo outside Prakash Consulting Ltd. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

By Ian Gustafson

Shovels Ready

Rose Garden Hospice looking forward to the spring as another major donation is made

Mar 5, 2021 | 2:00 PM

As the Rose Garden Hospice is just over $2.6 million of their $4 million goal towards a new facility, every donation brings them one step closer to getting shovels in the ground.

Don Daschuk, who is a board member and head of the building committee, said they want to start constructions as soon as the ground thaws.

He explained, what has been a 12-year journey for him, seeing this project come together over the years has been emotional at times.

“I did not realize this project would be so challenging. Every time we seem we’re getting close the goal post seems to move on us,” Daschuk said. “This time of COVID has really thrown some curves at us. I guess it’s a testament to everybody here that we’re sticking with it.”

Some of the challenges they’ve run into, he explained, has been that costs have dramatically risen since they went to tender last summer. He then went back to the building committee and re-evaluated how they can make the project more affordable. To do that they redesigned the whole building and eliminated any of the extras that could be added later such as the basement.

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“We wanted to keep our building basically having good bones and function for us, but we’ve cut it drastically,” he said.

For the outside of the building he said before the pandemic sheeting was $9 per sheet and is now $41.75, which is a 371 per cent increase. The price of studs has also gone up from $3.70 to $10.86.

“It can’t stay like this. It’s got to come down,” he said.

He hopes the price increases don’t delay the process and said this year has been tough to predict, but they will deal with each challenge as it comes. Throughout these challenges, they’ve stayed dedicated to the project.

“I guess anybody that has gone through a terminal disease, they know what it’s about and when you talk to somebody on the street and tell them what we’re doing, they get it. They say, ‘yeah we went through that and it would’ve been nice to have a nice room that we could spend time with and watch some movies together or something.’”

On Friday morning, Prakash Consulting Ltd., who donated $10,000 to the hospice in 2019, donated an additional $15,000.

President Ravi Prakash said he donated to the hospice again because he knows it’s going to be a much-needed and well used.

“If you want to exit in a very dignified way… hospitals are not [always] the right place for you to be with your family,” he said. “And this is a good place where you can be with your family.”

Prakash didn’t want to take credit for the donation and decided to donate the money on behalf of his business partner at Prakash Consulting, Jim Brown. Brown is also on the hospice building design committee.

Brown said Daschuk came to him personally and asked him to be on the building committee, as well as getting Prakash Consulting involved with the structural portion of the building.

Brown added it’s exciting to be getting so close to getting shovels in the ground this spring.

“This project has been a long time coming,” he said. “For some others, like Don [Daschuk], he’s been at it for 10 years and I came on board a couple years ago with him and we’ve carried on since then. It’s kind of exciting because it’s such a needed facility. A number of people have been able to see people in the hospital on their last days and it is really not nice.

“This new facility it’s more like home, it’s more relaxed and comfortable and quiet. It’ll provide the care that they need to the very end.”

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Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow