Valley Hospice project proceeds

After more than a decade of grassroots promotion, work will soon be underway in Kentville to build the first free-standing hospice in Atlantic Canada.

The Valley Hospice Foundation and Annapolis Valley Health (AVH) recently formally announced a partnership to establish a hospice in the Valley.

An eight-bedroom hospice will be built with a physical link to the Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville.

The Valley Hospice Foundation provided the original vision for a beautiful and purpose-built facility that is specifically designed to serve palliative patients in a peaceful, comfortable, home-like environment.

Together, AVH and the Hospice Foundation have developed the current model by which the hospice will function. This unique model of operation has been developed to fit the needs and available resources of this region.

“There is an urgent need for a hospice in this part of the Valley,” Valley Hospice Foundation past chairman Dr. Jim Perkin said.

“The plan to build the hospice adjoining the hospital is a sound and an attractive one, “ Perkin said, “and we are very pleased that after many years of research and consultation, we have reached this point,”

Overwhelming need for facility

The overwhelming need to provide better end-of-life care in all settings -- home, hospital and long-term care -- and the numbers of palliative care patients who currently occupy beds in AVH inpatient facilities led to the current plan.

“The average life expectancy and the average age in the Annapolis Valley is higher than national and provincial averages, meaning that there is a greater need for health services such as end-of-life care than in other parts of the province and country,” AVH palliative care manager Shelagh Campbell-Palmer noted.

The development of the hospice will ultimately enhance the end-of-life care provided in all locations across the district. It will also provide, for example, patient education materials and staff training programs that will be used not only in the hospice, but throughout the district at all sites where palliative care is delivered -- including the Annapolis Community Health Centre and Soldiers Memorial Hospital.

“The hospice will be a key addition to the district’s palliative care program,” Campbell-Palmer pointed out. “Hospices are an important part of a comprehensive program.

“As we continue to develop and enhance the care we provide to patients in their homes across the valley,” she said, “the hospice will serve those patients who cannot (or do not wish to) be cared for at home.”

Interest goes back decades

Interest in developing a hospice to serve the Annapolis Valley began in the 1980’s, and in 1993, because of conversations between VON nurses and members

of the sociology department at Acadia University, and a more formal project began.

These conversations soon led to the formation of the hospice board – which conducted thorough research, released several community reports and served as the voice for the hospice movement in the Valley. In 2005, the Foundation and AVH came together to explore their common visions for end of life care and eventually arrived at the current plan.

“The Foundation has received generous support from individuals in the community toward the hospice and we look forward to continued support as we embark on a major fund raising campaign for building the facility,” Valley Hospice Foundation chair Diana Paterson said.

Recently the Hospice Foundation has joined forces with the Valley Regional Hospital Foundation as part of multi-phase plan in delivering health care that supports the district population from conception to end of life.

A joint fundraising effort is being planned to address a portion of the redevelopment project underway at the Valley Regional Hospital.