Saskatchewan’s first free-standing hospice got a $100,000 boost Wednesday morning.
The donation to the St. Paul’s Hospital end-of-life care facility comes courtesy of the Dakota Dunes Community Development Corporation.
The community development corporation is overseen by the Saskatoon Tribal Council.
Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand said they receive a lot of fundraising requests but the hospice initiative is a special one.
“This one is a close to home for us because it deals with the quality of life for people,” he said. “In order for us to be contributing something this significant to St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation is meaningful to us because it’s about being with family at a time of need and for us it was no brainer to really support this initiative.”
The new hospice will be located on the southeast side of Saskatoon on Hilliard Street.
It is expected to be completed in the fall of 2020.
St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation CEO Lecina Hicke said the donation builds upon an already strong relationship between the two partners.
“We have a great longstanding relationship with DDCDC and in the past they’ve supported our healing arts program and when we were speaking to them about the hospice at Glengarda and the close to home campaign, the holistic side of care really resonated with them,” she said. “So, their support will ensure not only do we have a facility to deliver that kind of care but that it is an integrated part of the patient experience.”
The St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation’s Hospice and End-of-Life Care Campaign is a $20 million initiative.
The donation was made at the STC offices.
(PHOTO: Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand, right, presents St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation CEO Lecina Hicke, left, with a gift. Photo by Fraser Needham.)