A new hospice in the works in southern Grey Bruce is receiving support from the province.
Vice Chair of Saugeen Hospice Ken Brown says this project has been nine years in the making and will be built on donated land from Brockton northeast of Walkerton.
He says this is a multi-phased project which includes the current phase of seeking approval from the Ministry of Health, followed by the architectural drawings, the tendering for construction, and officially opening its doors.
“We are hoping that our major fundraising campaign will kick off later in 2024,” says Brown. “Optimistically, two years or three years to open if everything goes according to plan, but you never know with the economy, the cost of materials, the degree of fundraising that we do, there is a lot of variables.”
Brown says to help get the project off the ground, they received $1.5 million from the province. A portion of this funding, $225,000 is a planning grant to help with the hiring of an architect as well as testing.
The remaining amount, which was announced on Monday by MPP for Huron-Bruce Lisa Thompson, will go towards the construction of the hospice and six residential hospice beds.
“We are really humbled with the trust that everyone is putting in our organization to make this happen. We are just looking forward to complimenting and adding to the excellent hospice services that are already being provided by the local and regional hospices in the area,” says Brown.
He says they hope to get another hospice bed to bring their capacity up to seven.
When construction gets underway, Brown says they plan to make use of local companies to build the new hospice.
“A project like this, it takes time. But we are doing it right, we are getting professional advice at all levels and we are working with the government and the ministry and the local agencies to make this happen,” says Brown.
More details on the new hospice can be found on its website here.