$1.2-million is flowing from the province to the Nipissing Serenity Hospice.

That announcement on Monday by John Fraser, Parliamentary Assistant to the Health and Long-term Care Minister.

He says he has learned from personal experience how essential having a hospice can be for a community.

“The community contributes dollars, time and effort. And they come together to make sure that we take care of each other at a very vulnerable time in many people’s lives,” Fraser says.

The plan is for a 10 bed facility with this funding covering six beds.

Ron Farrell is chair of the Northeast Local Health Integration Network board.

“The funding that’s available is for six beds because we anticipate that that’s the need at the moment. We don’t know what the demographics are going to be for the future,” he says.

Chair of the Board of Directors Mathilde Gravelle Bazinet says they have a request in to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund for $1.5 million and if they can get they’ll have 90 % of what’s needed for the $6.5 million project.

She also says the provincial funds will make a big difference in fundraising.

“We know we have a lot of major donors out there who were waiting for us to get provincial funding and then they’re going to get their cheques out and sign their pledges,” she says.

Gravelle Bazinet says she got involved because she saw through her own experience with her brother dying what a hospice can do for the patient and the family.

“He was there for one week at the end.  If we had not had that hospice my sister in law would have died before him because she was looking after him 24-7,” she says.

Officials says they’re expecting to break ground on construction of the hospice March 30th, 2018.

 

 

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