NEWS RELEASE
THE COUNTY OF SIMCOE
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The County of Simcoe is partnering with local communities to expand residential hospice services in Simcoe County to provide more individuals and families with better access to compassionate end-of-life care, closer to home.
The County of Simcoe raised a flag for National Hospice Palliative Care Week and announced today its new three-year, $1.5 million Capital Funding commitment to the Hospice Alliance in Simcoe County. The County’s investment will support the creation of 25 new residential hospice beds in Simcoe County by providing vital capital funding for projects in Collingwood, Midland, Orillia and Alliston.
The $1.5 million will help build an additional 25 beds including four in Collingwood, 10 in Alliston, six new beds in Midland and five new beds in Orillia. This will create access for more residents to receive high quality hospice palliative end of life care in a home like environment, in their own community, as opposed to a hospital setting.
The funds are allocated by the Simcoe County Hospice Alliance. The Alliance was formed to look at regional planning and to project the capital needs across Simcoe County as a whole. The Alliance is comprised of representatives from Campbell House in Collingwood, Hospice Huronia in Midland, Mariposa House Hospice in Orillia, Mathews House in Alliston and Hospice Simcoe in Barrie.
Hospice palliative care aims to relieve suffering and improve the quality of living and dying. Residential hospices provide expert care in a home-like environment, giving families and friends the space and care they need to be with their loved ones at one of the most vulnerable times in their lives. Currently there are only 20 residential beds in Simcoe County; six in Collingwood, four in Alliston and ten in Barrie.
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“Our County Council is honoured to provide a needed boost to hospice services in Simcoe County and pleased to begin an impactful partnership with the Simcoe County Hospice Alliance that will improve access to hospice services in our region. We recognize the need and demand for end-of-life care services is growing, and similar to our investment in area hospitals, this funding commitment is a direct investment in our residents and vital services that impact their quality of life." - County of Simcoe Warden Gerry Marshall
“We thank the County of Simcoe for their generosity and their vision with regards to increasing our capacity to serve our communities-improving both the quality of life and the quality of end of life services in Simcoe County.” - Kelly Hubbard, chairperson Simcoe County Hospice Alliance
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