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In 1967, Dr. Cicely Saunders founded St.
Christopher’s Hospice in London England
and started the modern Hospice movement as we know it today. Over the door of
St. Christopher’s were the words:
You matter because you are;
You matter to the last moment of your life;
And we will do everything we can
Not only to help you die peacefully;
But to help you to LIVE until you die.
History of Hospice in
Nanaimo
It was the work of Cecily Saunders that inspired others to bring hospice
palliative care across the ocean to Canada. In 1974, the first
Canadian Hospice program was established at St. Boniface in Winnipeg.
Here in Nanaimo,
through the inspiration and hard work of two remarkable women, Olivia Tomasson and Lynn Green, hospice care was introduced, and
in 1981, Mid-Island Hospice Society was registered as a non-profit society.
Throughout the 1980s, Hospice strengthened their board, developed a
Volunteer Training Program, and created both a palliative visiting program
and a bereavement support program run by trained volunteers. Our first office
was a tiny cubicle in the old Health Unit on Fitzwilliam Street.
In the 1990s, we purchased our present facility and opened Hospice House
on Boundary Avenue,
hired paid staff, and developed a volunteer visiting program at Nanaimo Hospital on the Palliative Care Unit.
Other adult support programs were added, including the Hospice Walking Group.
In 2000, working from a very solid and well established foundation, we
were able to further expand and enhance our programs and the level of
staffing. In 2003, a three-year initiative to substantially increase our
volunteer numbers was implemented.
In 2003, Mid-Island Hospice Society changed its name to Nanaimo
Community Hospice Society to emphasize our commitment to our
community and to better reflect the area we serve.
In 2006 Hospice celebrated 25 years of caring in our community.
The Hospice Shoppe was established
in 2007 with the intention of creating sustainable funding that would
allow for expansion of both our programs and our facility over the next five years.
Today, Hospice has 14 well-established programs running at full capacity,
supported by over 190 volunteers and board members, and five full-time and
three part time staff working from Hospice House, and 80 volunteers and 2
full time staff working from the Hospice Shoppe.
In 2007 Hospice staff and volunteers provided support to over 1,400
individuals facing end of life issues, and education to another 350 including
315 Teens in Grades 9, 10, 11 through a classroom visitation program. Our volunteers contributed over 23,000
volunteer hours in the community.
In the last seven years
(2000-2007), assuming a value of $16.50 for each volunteer hour, Nanaimo Hospice
volunteers have contributed over $2.17Million Dollars in contributed service
to our community.
Thank you, Nanaimo, for continuing to
Help
Hospice Help Others!
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