Health Minister Terry Lake and Comox Valley MLA Don McRae attended today’s public opening of the healing gardens and donor recognition event at St. Joseph’s Hospital to announce a $250,000 grant to support four new hospice beds in Comox.

The grant to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation will support renovation costs to add four new hospice beds in The Views residential care facility at St. Joseph’s General Hospital.

“Hospice palliative care services and the compassionate health-care professionals who deliver them, help patients and families through a very difficult time in their lives,” said Lake. “By supporting The Views to create these new hospice beds in their facility we are helping to provide a safe and welcoming environment for more patients and families in the Comox Valley.”

The renovations are expected to be complete and the beds available by spring, 2015. Island Health will support the ongoing operational costs of these beds. 

“This grant is one of the many ways the provincial government is investing in health care in the Comox Valley,” said McRae. “We know that the population in this region is fast growing and the renovations and new hospice beds will complement the larger plan to provide the Valley’s residents with improved health care closer to home.”

Single rooms are the standard of care for hospice patients to support the needs of both patients and families. The renovations to The Views will convert existing four-bed rooms into single rooms. The rooms will have private bathrooms, space for families and loved ones and a home-like feel. Each of the four rooms also will have ocean and/or garden views. Renovations will create a dedicated and separate entrance to the hospice located in The Views.

“Island Health is committed to providing high-quality, accessible services and supports to individuals and families dealing with end-of-life care and issues,” said Don Hubbard, board chair of Island Health. “We are proud to be part of the partnership that is bringing this important service to the community.”

The residential care unit at St Joseph’s Hospital (now called The Views), opened in 1967 with 48 beds, since then the facility has grown to a total of 125 residential care beds.

“There is tremendous interest in the community for this long-awaited service and to work in partnership with the Ministry of Health around the capital needs is extremely exciting,” said Jane Murphy, president/CEO St. Joseph’s General Hospital. “This will help The Views continue to create an environment characterized by peace, quiet, dignity and privacy where our palliative patients and their families will feel at home during this challenging time.” 

“The experience of dying is greatly influenced by the quality of information we have, how prepared we feel, and the support and resources available to us. Creating this four-bed hospice cluster at The Views provides a place for people in our community to have a choice about the kind of end-of-life care they receive. The Comox Valley Hospice Society is pleased to keep working with The Views to support people who are dying, their loved ones and caregivers,” said Terri Odeneal, executive director of the Comox Valley Hospice Society. 

Since 2010, the ministry alone has provided over $17 million in hospice and palliative care funding. The addition of these beds supports government’s commitment to double hospice spaces in the province by 2020.

Quick facts:

• As of Sept. 30, 2013, there were 261 adult residential care beds designated as end-of-life beds, plus a further 58 ‘flexible’ residential care beds in B.C.
• St. Joseph's provides services to a population of more than 66,000 people of the Comox Valley and regional specialist services to more than 122,000 residents of the North Island.
• The total population in the Comox Valley is expected to increase by more than 24% by 2030, while the population of 75+ years is expected to increase by 83% by 2030.
• St. Joseph’s employs 1,078 staff and has a medical staff of 150 family practitioners, specialists and midwives, all supported by a full spectrum of technology in diagnostic imaging, laboratory and rehabilitation medicine.

Media Contacts:

Kristy Anderson
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)