Fraser Health has taken possession of the Irene Thomas Hospice and the neighbouring Harold and Veronica Savage Centre for Supportive Care.

According to a press release, the health authority took possession of the property adjacent to Delta Hospital on Monday (March 29) after ending the service agreement and lease with the Delta Hospice Society.

Fraser Health gave the society 365-days鈥� notice that it would terminate the service agreement last year due to the society鈥檚 refusal to allow medical assistance in dying at the Irene Thomas Hospice.

READ MORE: (Feb. 26, 2021)

鈥淎ccess to hospice services are fundamental to people,鈥� Health Minister Adrian Dix said in press release Wednesday afternoon. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I hear regularly from people in Delta and across B.C. That is why there is strong support for the decision we have taken. I think this commitment to hospice can and should bring us together as communities.

鈥淔raser Health鈥檚 job, and my job, is to ensure that Delta residents continue to have access to hospice services upon the termination of the contract with DHS, which we continue to be committed to, and are working to make it happen.鈥�

Work is currently underway to reopen the facility, including making needed upgrades and repairs to the building, ensuring appropriate staffing is in place prior to admitting patients, and licensing the building to provide hospice care.

Fraser Health says it expects to reopen hospice beds at the Irene Thomas Hospice by Thursday, April 15.

鈥淲e are committed to ensuring people in Delta, and in all of our communities, have access to hospice care when they need it, wrapped with support from their family, friends, and community. I am pleased we will soon be able to reopen the Irene Thomas Hospice to ensure Delta residents can access this important service now and for many years to come,鈥� Fraser Health board chair Jim Sinclair said in a press release.

Wednesday鈥檚 announcement did not provide an update regarding the City of Delta鈥檚 proposal to take over the lease for the Harold and Veronica Savage Centre for Supportive Care.

In a letter to Fraser Health released Feb. 1, Mayor George Harvie proposed the City of Delta lease the centre and then sublease it to the Delta Hospice Society 鈥� with the caveat that it first have a new board in place.

In his letter, Harvie said the arrangement would 鈥渆nsure harmonization of service delivery by the hospice consistent with Fraser Health Authority requirements and ensure that this asset remains whole to deliver vital services to the community.鈥�

鈥淚n addition to continuity of services, it is our goal to retain the existing staff and volunteers of the supportive care centre that have made the hospice a centre of excellence in this community, to the greatest possible extent,鈥� Harvie wrote.

READ MORE: (Feb. 1, 2021)

According to the Delta Hospice Society鈥檚 website, the Centre for Supportive Care provides a co-ordinated source of information, referral, education and support to enhance care to individuals and family in the community, as well as patients and families of the Irene Thomas Hospice. Information, support services, counselling and equipment loans are provided free of charge.

In a press release issued Feb. 6, Fraser Health said it would consider 鈥渋n the near future鈥� how the Harold and Veronica Savage Centre for Supportive Care 鈥渟upports the broader community,鈥� including discussing with the City of Delta its proposal to take over the centre鈥檚 lease.

editor@northdeltareporter.com
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