Council throws support behind Hospice plans

“People are sitting in the hospital when they don’t need to be,” noted Donna Flood, Executive Director for the Prince George Palliative Care Society. “We can do better than this.”

The proposed centre would provide for services not readily available to seniors in the community, such as a social environment, a place to gather.

“We realized there’s a large gap [in services] for those living with a life-ending illness,”explains Flood. “They’re in their homes, trying to live their best lives.”

The centre would also provide a dozen palliative care beds, in addition to those already in place at the Rotary Hospice House on Ferry Avenue.

“I think right now, we work in crisis,” she says, referring to the healthcare system. “And that’s not okay. That’s not a good way to know how you’re going to spend the rest of your life.”

Council not only endorsed the plan, but sent it to Council’s Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.

“What we have seen these last four years is the committee’s success with our advocacy in Victoria,” noted Councillor Frizzell, who Chairs the committee and put forward the motion. “And when talk about the issues, it gets the attention of decision-makers are a provincial level. The provincial government does have a bigger purse.”

The Society estimates it would cost $2.2 million to build the centre and an additional $1.7 million annually to operate the facility.

“What we need is the operational money. The money to pay the staff. When we did the math, what we can do with $1.7 million, what we’re actually saving the health care system is over five million dollars.”

Currently, only 35 per cent of the society’s costs are covered by the Province.

by Cheryl Jahn

Council throws support behind Hospice plans

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