The Province has provided $600,000 for improved access to hospice palliative care in Squamish, and the Sunshine Coast. West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Jordan Sturdy made the announcement at Hilltop House in Squamish on behalf of Health Minister Terry Lake.

The announcement that took place on Tuesday also signifies the first-ever hospice beds in the Sea to Sky region, with four new beds in Squamish, and two new beds on the Sunshine Coast. Squamish will see a new hospice unit that will be linked to Hilltop House and Squamish General Hospital, although the unit will function as an independent building with it’s own entrance and facilities.

Keith McBain, Director of Residential Care & Seniors Programs for Coastal Community of Care says the community should be excited that there is space within Hilltop House to create the new hospice unit; “we were fortunate enough that we actually have some space within Hilltop that we can create, almost the feeling of a standalone hospice… it wont be, kind of, the end of the corridor [like] the residential care buildings…”

The BC Centre for Palliative Care and the BC Hospice Palliative Care Association, also allocated $2,550 for the Squamish Hospice Society and $8,000 for the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society.

The Chair of the Squamish Hospice Society, Doctor Judith Fothergill says they have a goal of raising $1.74 million for the facility that will house the new beds. With the provincial grant, the society will now have to raise $1.34 million. Fothergill says they hope to start fundraising very soon. She says there will be naming opportunities and opportunities for four significant donations for the four private rooms.

You can find out more information at SquamishHospice.com.

Filed under: Heath, Hilltop House, Hospice Palliative Care, Squamish, Sunshine Coast