Hospice Fredericton Tour
On October 3, 2016, David Coon, MLA for Fredericton South and Leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick had the opportunity to tour the Hospice Fredericton, a community-based facility that provides a safe and peaceful residence for patients requiring end-of-life care.
Open since April 2016, the facility is the first residential hospice in the capital region and the second in the province. The Hospice’s services work around the needs of patients and their families so all appointments and meals are scheduled accordingly. There are 10 patient rooms on the first floor, along with a chapel, a fully equipped kitchen, and living room. The second floor holds 7 rooms for family members as well as 1 staff bed. There are 24/hour nursing staff available and an in-house psychologist to help families and patients cope with the reality of death and dying. The residents at Hospice Fredericton are almost entirely composed of cancer patients and spend on average 12 days at the facility. Since it opened in April the waitlist for admission continues to rise.
“We simply don’t have enough (space) to meet the demand,” said Stephanie Golding, Executive Director of Hospice Fredericton. “As a result, many patients spend their last days in hospital wards not equipped or staffed to deliver palliative care.”
In its first 6 months of operation Hospice Fredericton admitted 45 patients and saw them through their final days. Golding is thrilled with the positive feedback she has received from those that have come through her doors.
Hospice Fredericton provides a more comfortable, personal end-of-life experience for patients and their families and delivers this at less than half the cost of keeping patients in hospital. Hospice care is an important option for people facing the end of their life.