Facilities provide comfort at the end of life

Date Published | Jun. 1, 2008

BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN

By late this summer, residents of both Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie will be able to receive end-of-life care at two 10-bed residential hospices.

The Sudbury Hospice, located on the Laurentian University campus and overlooking both Bethel and Ramsey Lakes, is due to open at the end of August.

In Sault Ste. Marie, the Algoma Residential Community Hospice is scheduled to open in mid-July. This hospice is located on a beautiful, treed lot on Fourth Line West.

In October 2005, the provincial government announced 30 communities would receive $580,000 each per year in operating funds for a 10-bed residential hospice through their local Community Care Access Centre.

Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay were all included in the announcement. But there was just one catch. If a hospice didn’t already exist, these communities had to raise money to build one.

“Once you build it, the operational funding will come. Do you remember that movie (Field of Dreams)? It’s the same story across the province,” said Leo Therrien, executive director of the Sudbury Hospice.

Back in 1996, a four-bed supportive housing facility called Maison La Paix House was opened in downtown Sudbury for those dying of AIDS.

But as antiretroviral drugs were improved, AIDS patients started living longer, and very few were accessing hospice services, said Therrien.

In March 2005, the facility started providing end-of-life services for people dying of cancer and other terminal illnesses. Thirty-one people have accessed services at Maison La Paix House since, he said.

Given the demand for palliative care in Sudbury, the organization jumped at the opportunity to build a 10-bed hospice, said Therrien.

“Ninety per cent of people say they want to die at home, but three-quarters of them end up dying in a hospital. They don’t always have the support they need at home,” he said.
After a feasibility study was completed, a $3.6 million capital campaign was launched in August 2006.

Of that goal, about $3.5 million has been raised. About $1 million was raised through community donations, and $2.5 million from various levels of government. Maison La Paix House is also being sold to raise money.

Construction of the 11,000-square foot facility started in September 2007.

Because $580,000 a year is not enough to cover operating costs, the hospice will have to raise money to keep the facility running. Using volunteers will also keep costs down.
There will be 10 rooms for residents, and a room for families to sleep so they can stay with loved ones, said Therrien. Also included are a large kitchen, a non-denominational sacred space and a playroom for children.

When the hospice is up and running, a day program for those with terminal illness will open in the facility, he said. Xstrata Nickel will sponsor this service.

Therrien said the government wants hospices to be built partly because they free up hospital beds in favour of less expensive care.

“One reason the government came out to fund 30 hospices is that the Alternate Level of Care (ALC) problem is huge all over the province. This will free up 10 beds in the hospital.”

Sault Ste. Marie

Sault Ste. Marie residents have been planning a residential hospice since 1999.
However, if the province hadn’t provided operating funds, getting the project off the ground would have been difficult, said Helen Ross, executive director of the Algoma Community Residential Hospice.

“Without the government funding I don’t think we could have gone ahead at this rate because it would have meant we’d have had to raise the entire amount every year to run the hospice.”

A $3.5 million capital campaign was launched in the summer of 2006.

The hospice board made the decision to start construction in March 2007 even though the capital campaign was still short $1.5 million because of escalating construction costs. As of late May 2008, the capital campaign has nearly reached its goal.
“The decor in the rooms is as much like home as possible. The only institutional furniture in the whole place are the hospital beds, which of course we need.”

The 10,400-square foot Algoma Community Residential Hospice, although slightly smaller than its Sudbury counterpart, has many of the same features, including a non-denominational sacred space and a playroom for children.

Ross said her organization has also been operating a day hospice program for those with terminal illness for four years. The program will continue in its current location even when the hospice is completed.

“They have programs such as reiki, massage therapy, laughter therapy and music therapy. They have sessions called chat and learn where they approach different subjects.”

Thunder Bay

In Thunder Bay, a hospice is not yet under construction because community members feel they cannot raise sufficient operating funds.

It will take about $1 million each year to operate the facility, which is far more than the $580,000 provided by the province, said Tracy Buckler, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Care Group.

St. Joseph’s Care Group recently took over the project from the Kinloch Manor Hospice Board. The volunteer board felt St. Joseph’s could more effectively lobby for more operating funds, said Buckler.

“The capital funds are far less of a challenge than the ongoing operations. If we were assured of operating funds forever, we would be able to acquire the capital funds. We won’t fundraise for operating costs. From our board’s perspective, that’s a very risky way to go.”

A location on Reaume St. has already been found on land donated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Thunder Bay. Plans for the facility have also been developed by volunteers, said Buckler.

“Once we are assured of the operating funds, it won’t be a lengthy capital build. There’s a lot of planning that’s been done ahead of time, so we would just resurrect that planning.”

Buckler said the development of hospices in the province is important because the baby boomers are beginning to enter their senior years, and the demand for palliative services will increase.

“We need to provide more choices for people, and we need to provide alternatives outside of a traditional hospital setting. It’s a good option for people to be able to have in the future.”

www.maisonsudburyhospice.org
www.kinlochmanor.ca
www.hospice.on.ca