‘Place of dignity’: New hospice in Elgin will take its first patient in July

A grand opening was held at Elgin County’s long-awaited hospice facility. As CTV London’s Sean Irvine reports, they will welcome patients in July.

A long-awaited hospice in Elgin County held a grand opening on Friday, just over three weeks before its first patient.

Situated above Waterworks Park, the new facility is designed to provide peace and tranquility to those in their final days.

“This is absolutely a retreat. This is the cottage,” said Brenda Fleming, executive director, when speaking of the facility.

The ‘cottage’ will feature 10 hospice beds.

It was built for $18.5 million, including furnishing and startup costs, thanks to community support.

Until Thursday’s grand opening, the fundraising campaign was short nearly $5 million.

But a $3.5 million gift from the estate of the late Marianne Barrie has changed that.

“It’s a monumental gift and transformational, and one of the largest gifts in this community,” said Fleming.

As a legacy to Marianne, the hospice has been renamed the Barrie Family Hospice.

Her estate executor, Bill Graham, said the allocation reflects Marianne’s life-long pledge to support the community’s greatest healthcare needs.

“The largest one that became apparent was the need for hospice and end-of-life care. And the fact that we didn’t have this beautiful facility in our community made it clear it was the missing piece.”

The new facility includes not only hospice rooms but vast gathering spaces both inside and out.

The opening date has been tentatively set for July 22.

Initially, eight beds have been funded. Forty staff members and almost 200 volunteers will contribute to its operation.

Fleming said all will work to ensure those passing and their loved ones have time to say goodbye, “Just be together, knowing someone else is close by and ready to take care of those complex care and pain management needs.”

That peace of mind is crucial as end-of-life nears, according to Father Murra Sample, a retired priest who attended the opening.

“I think about the individual who is dying, and now there is a place of dignity. And in that kind of setting, there is peace, there is quiet, there’s a chance to have those long conversations with family members,” said Sample.