The Rose Garden Hospice opened in August 2023. Since then, almost 90 guests have passed through the facility. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Rose Garden Hospice

Almost 90 guests have passed through the Rose Garden Hospice so far

Jun 4, 2024 | 5:05 PM

As only one of two hospices in Saskatchewan and one amongst the very few that exist across Canada, the Rose Garden Hospice in Prince Albert is still finding its feet but is gaining ground.

Mont St. Joseph CEO Wayne Nogier heads the board of directors for the Hospice and told paNOW that they have had 88 guests spend their last days at the facility so far.

“Are we still trying to cure disease? Are we actually supporting their natural death and at the point that there’s acceptance there there’s nothing else to do but to maintain dignity and humanity and rally family,” said Nogier.

The concept of a hospice is to allow people to die naturally in an environment that is peaceful and calmer than it might be in a hospital.

The average time spent in the hospice – which Nogier specifies as being not medical in nature although nurses and doctors are on hand – is about nine days.

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In that time, the staff are doing their best to make the journey as peaceful and dignified as possible for both guests and their families.

Medical staff are there to manage any pain and mild discomfort the guests might be having. About 40 per cent of their guests so far were there following a cancer diagnosis.

Nogier dismissed rumours that staffing has been cut or that the facility is not functioning fully.

While admissions so far have kept the facility at about 50 per cent capacity, he said no budgets have been cut and neither has staffing.

The hospice looked at several other similar facilities to see what they were doing but said at the end of the day, they plan nursing and medical care around how many guests they are caring for.

“It’s not a blank cheque that we receive. We have a fixed budget, and we have to make sure that the care that we designed and that we’re going to deliver, that we can sustain within our means to do,” he said.

Saskatchewan Health committed in 2016 to providing operational funding for the hospice and Nogier said that commitment has not changed, and the funding has not been reduced.

He would like to see more doctors in Central and northern Saskatchewan keep in mind the role the hospice plays, however.

It is not a hospital, and it is not palliative care, it is for people who know they are in their final days and want to pass in dignity.

It is, however, a service provided by the province and people do not pay to be there.

So far, the 10-bed facility has hosted guests from Birch Hills, Candle Lake, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Vanscoy, Wakaw, Shellbrook, Smeaton, Christopher Lake, La Ronge, Leask and MacDowall.

susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com