More details were revealed today about the Nipissing Serenity Hospice which is expected to be open as soon as 2017.
The organization which got the green light in November rolled out their fundraising campaign in front of a packed house at the Davedi Club.
Mathilde Bazinet, who is the Chair of the Nipissing Serenity Hospice, which will be located near Laurier Woods off John Street, is encouraged at the early response for the six-million dollar project which has already seen one million contributed locally.
“It has been over four years now we've been incorporated and working very hard on this,” said Bazinet.
“We are very pleased now that the community is coming together and we will build this home that is going to be a really peaceful environment not only for the dying person but its mainly for their families that really need to be able to with them 24 hours a day.”
Nipissing Serenity Hospice officials also announced the projects Honourary Co-Chairs in the form of former Olympian Kate Pace-Lindsay and North Bay native Dr. John Dellandrea, currently the President/CEO Sunnybrook Hospital Foundation in Toronto.
Pace-Lindsay, who has that local pathway named after her, feels this is a wonderful honour for her.
The two-time Canadian Olympic downhill skier has a personal connection to hospice as her 11-year-old nephew passed away from cancer.
That family tragedy helped her understand the value of a hospice.
“Maybe (families) are not comfortable with a patient at home, maybe they don't have the time to provide the full care for that patient. To be able to have a place away from a hospital - something more accessible for the families to be able to spend their final moments with their loved ones - I think it's an important thing to have in a community,” said Pace-Lindsay.
“That is why I wanted to a part of this. I saw how powerful it can be to have a strong support network. I saw how important it was for the patients and families and I wanted to be a part of it to provide their families with the same opportunities.”
Campaign Co-Chair Marlene Wood and Ian Martyn released a pair of fundraising events including a Hike for Hospice which will take place in May in Laurier Woods.
