North Otago Hospice Hub starts taking shape

The North Otago Hospice Hub makeover has started at 343 Thames Highway.

The Hospice Hub will open in mid-2018, providing a purpose-built space for the Otago Community Hospice’s Patient Services, Hospice Education Services and a new Hospice Store.

Ginny Green, Otago Community Hospice CEO, is thrilled to see work starting on the building.

“It’s been a long time coming, so it is exciting for our team that work has begun on the building, knowing that soon we will have our much-needed Hospice Hub in Oamaru.

We’ve started with some of the smaller jobs, like lining the back store room, which will be the new Hospice Store drop-off point and sorting room. We have finalised drawings for renovating the rest of the building, and will soon submitted these to council. Next step will be to put out the tender for the builder/project manager, so we’ll be ready to hit the go button once consent comes through,” says Ms Green.

The Hospice Hub building purchase and renovations have been funded through North Otago fundraising efforts by the Lions Clubs, The Boar ‘n’ Stag Hunting Competitions, Portside Punch and other events coordinated by Sally-Ann Donnelly, a significant bequest from the late Nigel Wilson and many individual and group donations.

“We are so grateful the community has rallied behind this project. We are 100% committed to equitable delivery of specialist palliative care services to the people of North Otago.

The hub will be a facility where patients and families can come - for a clinic appointment, counselling or support. It will have a training room where education sessions will be held for other providers and volunteers, as well as housing a much larger hospice shop.

Until we open the hub, our services will continue running as normal and our store, which is a key part of our fundraising model, is open and needs continued community support.”

The Otago Community Hospice is focussed on supporting and empowering all people who are dying in Otago, to live well and die well. The Otago Community Hospice team works closely with the Oamaru hospital, aged care facilities, GPs and the team of district nurses, who together deliver the full range of palliative care services to the people of North Otago.