With no end-of-life beds at Squamish General Hospital, Squamish Hospice Society plays a key role for those facing death, says society's board president. Yet the society is on shaky financial ground.
Squamish Hospice receives approximately $5,000 a year from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), which goes towards the society's $40,000 operating budget. Its programs which include everything from bereavement support groups to providing respite for caregivers and a Hospice Palliative Care Team in which team members visit residencies are all run by volunteers. The volunteers need palliative care training and that costs money, Gloria Healy said.
The programs not only help people through difficult phases of their lives, but they also keep families together when a member is dying, Healy said. With no palliative-care beds in Squamish, if an individual is unable to stay at home, he or she would be transferred to North Vancouver. For elderly people, some of whom don't drive, that is too far to visit their dying loved one, Healy said, noting the society has dealt with such traumatic circumstances.
But each year, no matter how important the programs are, the society offers face uncertainty because of funding shortfalls, Healy said.
"To date we have just been keeping our head above water," she said, noting the organization ideally wants to expand its programming.
This year, the Squamish Hospice Society has applied for provincial gaming grants, said Susan Chapelle, one of the society's directors. For the past two years, Squamish Hospice was unsuccessful in its gaming grant bids, but board members have their fingers crossed that the money will come through this time, Chapelle said.
"We really rely on donations from the public," she noted. "But that is not a good way to sustain assets."
If the current financial instability continues, Chapelle fears Squamish Hospice might lose its part-time coordinator who works 15 hours a week which would cripple the society that serves to Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish.
The gaming grant would ensure the Hospice Society operates for another year, Healy said. A long-term solution would involve VCH stepping up to the plate, she said. Although local staff are supportive of the society's work, VCH doesn't fund Hospice to the same level as do other health authorities, Healy noted. The Fraser Health Authority, for example, includes hospice services in its regular health services funding model, she said.
The society aids approximately 100 people every year. From Oct. 18 to Nov. 22, the society is hosting a six-week bereavement support group. The meetings will be held on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Squamish Hospice Office next to Hilltop House at 38150 Behrner Dr. To register for the group call (604) 892-1552.
A children's bereavement group will run from Oct. 25 to Nov. 29. It is open to youth between the ages 11 and 17. The group will run from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, at the Squamish Hospice Office.
For more information visit www.squamishhospice.com or call (604) 848-5751.
