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Families can spend ¡®meaningful time¡¯ with more comfort, amenities

Story by Diana Rinne

FORT VERMILION ¡ª Patients receiving end-of-life care and their families now have greater comfort in a newly renovated palliative care suite at St. Theresa General Hospital thanks to the Northwest Health Foundation in collaboration with Â鶹ӳ»­ (AHS).

¡°Palliative care is an important part of healthcare, and having this updated space is very significant for patients and their families,¡± says Clark McAskile, Chair of the Northwest Health Foundation.

The Northwest Health Foundation provided $50,000 for the project as part of its $250,000 campaign to update palliative care spaces in the region, including suites in AHS facilities in both High Level and La Crete.

Another $115,000 for the Fort Vermilion project flowed from the Government of Â鶹ӳ»­¡¯s Infrastructure Maintenance Program.

¡°The updated palliative suite will help us improve the quality of life for these patients, so families have every opportunity to spend meaningful time together during what can be a very stressful situation,¡± says Trenten Derksen, Site Manager for St. Theresa General Hospital.

Upgrades to the palliative care suite in Fort Vermilion include new flooring, revamped plumbing to create a larger and fully wheelchair-accessible bathroom as well as added storage and a kitchenette with small appliances in the room.

¡°It turned out really beautiful,¡± says Harvey Matthews, manager of AHS Facilities, Maintenance and Engineering, whose team led the renovations. ¡°It¡¯s a 50-year-old room so we did a lot of changes to update things. It was a good collaboration between all of the departments involved.¡±

The suite officially re-opened with an informal open house on Nov. 30. ¡°We are very grateful to the Northwest Health Foundation and the many donors who supported the campaign to update these palliative care spaces in our facilities,¡± adds Derksen.

The Northwest Health Foundation is currently working on a new fundraising campaign focused on pediatric care for healthcare facilities the area.