We are often asked “Where will you build your hospice?” Townsend Smith Foundation’s Board of Directors is currently doing due diligence on two potential building sites, one being the Milton Education Village in southwest Milton. The second location is in Halton Hills. However, between finding a suitable location, purchasing it or having it donated, getting approvals, site plans and zoning in place, it does take a long time.
We are not putting all our eggs in one basket and if you are aware of another potential site we would be interested in learning more.
Once we are able to obtain a suitable site, we’re still not ready to build. The Ontario Ministry of Health requires an approval process, and at this time, no hospice beds (for TSF or any other organization) have been approved for funding. An application to the MoH, and significant funds are required before any beds can be authorized.
Securing a property to serve our communities in North Halton is our primary goal. I hope it won’t be long before we can come up with more solid information.
We welcome Astrid Lakats, newly elected board chair, to Townsend Smith Foundation. Astrid is a resident of North Halton. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant with her own accounting practice in Milton. Astrid has served on the boards of numerous not-for-profit organizations, and is a past Board Chair of the Mississauga Halton Community Care Access Centre. In her time with MHCCAC, Astrid saw the profound impact of hospice care on terminally ill patients and their families. She is honoured to be part of this incredible journey to build a hospice in North Halton.
Today, Premier Doug Ford and MPP Parm Gill announced the development of the Milton Education Village (MEV), which will include a potential hospice, campuses for Conestoga College and Wilfrid Laurier University, as well as a new retirement village and long-term care home owned and operated by Schlegel Villages.
Townsend Smith Foundation has been working to build a hospice for North Halton. The community support has been continuous and overwhelming. In the information session this morning, MPP Parm Gill referenced the Townsend Smith Foundation and we are encouraged by today’s announcement and grateful that Premier Ford and MPP Gill recognize the need for a hospice within our community.
Boston Presbyterian Church, the Ladies’ Fellowship Group, the choir and the membership at large have been regular supporters and donors to the Townsend Smith Hospice Foundation since 2016.
As they celebrate their 200th year as a congregation their enthusiasm and support for a hospice to serve North Halton residents continues to grow.
“Caring, Peaceful, Loving” This is how we describe my husband’s end of life at a hospice. We don’t have any comparisons but as a family we agree that everyone should have access to what we experienced. To help realize this for others facing a loved one’s death, we were committed to sharing our experience and helping financially in the new building of a new hospice in Alliston. A recent donation in memory of a good friend to the Townsend Smith Hospice Foundation sparked a request to share our family’s experiences when our beloved poppa died at Mathews House Hospice in Alliston. We truly experienced their motto “A life lived fully and a death with dignity”.
At the time of Richard’s sudden terminal cancer diagnosis, we had not known about both what was in store and how impactful the hospice staff and services would be. They ensured his well-being up until the end as well as our family’s ability to cope during and afterwards. Right after the diagnosis, the staff provided us support while we absorbed and processed our situation and plans. Over the next six months, the hospice would become our go-to for information and counselling with the decisions we were making.
A wonderful and enduring memory was the family conferencing evening mediated by one of the staff. It was a time of frank discussion with everyone having a chance to ask questions and build a shared understanding about what laid ahead. The meeting helped us move forward with the case management, preparation of advanced care direction, decision for DNR and professional assistance to navigate the health care system. When the time came, I was able to sleep and be with him and family could come to visit at the hospice. The nurses, volunteers and palliative care doctors were wonderful, kind and caring. Follow up care for me was available and appreciated.
The impact of our financial contribution which included buying one of the beds was recently highlighted when a dear friend mentioned having seen our family’s donation acknowledgement on the bed that their loved one was occupying. It brought home how our donation was continuing to give to others in ways that we could not have imagined. I encourage others to make donations to support the Townsend-Smith Hospice being built for the North Halton community. One never knows when it might be needed and everyone deserves to experience a peaceful end of life.
