The province’s funding increase for hospices will make a big difference for Hospice Huntsville.
Executive Director Rebecca Ellerson says of the $147.4-million the government has pledged over three years, Hospice is getting enough to support the equivalent of a full-time position for grief and bereavement services, as well as a 65 per cent bump to the funding of each of its five palliative care beds.
“We’re so thrilled that the government has recognized the programs and services that hospices across the province have been providing for many years,” says Ellerson, adding that this is their first base funding increase since 2016.
“What it allows us to do is know that we have those funds committed to our clinical programs,” says Ellerson. “We’ve got an increase in funding but it’s still not complete funding, [and] many of our programs aren’t funded at all. So we’ll continue to need to fundraise a significant amount each day. We’re just going to direct those funds now into these programs that we know we want to develop in our community.”
Ellerson says those programs include a variety of support groups, one-on-one support, and their visiting volunteer program, which has trained volunteers give end-of-life support both in the home and at facilities.
According to Ellerson, it also allows them to focus fundraising efforts on their capital expansion project, which will extend the back of their building by 3,500 square feet. She says that will be used to create specialized spaces such as a children’s play area and quiet rooms for private one-on-one meetings, when in the past they’ve had to use public community spaces.
