Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society (Coast Hospice) announced the first dedicated hospice facility is in the works for the lower Sunshine Coast, on a yet-to-be disclosed site.
Property for the amenity is being acquired and the new hospice is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2026 according to a joint press release issued Sept. 20 by the soon-to-be facility owners, Coast Hospice, and VCH, which will manage operations. The project is expected to cost $6 million, with each party contributing $3 million. The facility will feature eight beds, family meeting spaces and a sacred space.
Currently, VCH is supporting the temporary provision of four hospice rooms at the recently opened Silverstone Care Centre in Sechelt. Those are slated to operate until the new site is ready to welcome patients.
“The new hospice will provide palliative and supportive services for individuals and their families,” VCH’s senior medical director of coastal community of care Dr. Peter Edmunds said in the release.
“We are grateful for the community support and leadership shown by Sunshine Coast Hospice Society our partners in helping provide this important form of care.”
President of Coast Hospice’s board of directors, Ellen Adelberg stated in the release, “We are very pleased to be partnering with Vancouver Coastal Health to bring improved hospice care to our community. We look forward to creating a new, purpose-designed hospice with a home-like environment, to meet the growing need for end-of-life care within our community.”
That document noted hospice palliative care is a key component of any program for those approaching end-of-life. The goal is to relieve pain and other symptoms, as well as to enhance the quality of remaining life in a community setting. Coast Hospice has provided compassionate end-of-life and grief support for residents of the lower Sunshine Coast since 1987.
