$90,000 raised at Dr. Kindree Memorial Golf Tournament

The totals are in for the Squamish Hospital Foundation’s annual Dr. Kindree Memorial Golf Tournament that took place on September 18th.

Organisers say just over $90,000 was raised at this years event, with all funds going towards the capital costs of funding four new palliative care hospice beds at Hilltop House in Squamish, known as the Sea to Sky Community Hospice. Dr. Judith Fothergill, a Director with the Squamish Hospice Society says the money raised at the tournament this year is the most the event has raised in it’s history.

The Squamish Hospice Society is tasked with raising the $2 million capital costs for the new facility with the support of a $400,000 provincial grant. Vancouver Coastal Health has also agreed to fund ongoing operational costs of the facility. With the proceeds raised from the golf tournament, the Squamish Hospital Foundation plans to donate $140,000 to the project.

Fothergill says that currently there are no hospice beds in the Sea to Sky corridor and what they intend to do is create a “calm, tranquil unit, with dedicated staff focused on quality of life and symptom management at the end of life.” It is hoped that beds will be open and operational by March 2019, with a goal of starting construction in March 2018.

Donations can still be made on the Sea to Sky Community Hospice website, found here.