b'A D COMES TRUEDrreeaammOU matter becauseyou are you, and youOak Ridges Hospice O ers Compassionate End of Life Carematter to the end ofyour life. EverythingisreadytowelcomeLtd. Facebook page, #Tuesday Tours. theresidents to the Oak RidgesTheres a library, living room, dining Dame Cicely Saunders, rst founder of the Hospice Movement Hospice in May of this year.room, nurses station, main entrance, Administrative, nursing and PSWspiritualroomandfamilyroom. Its a dream come true, com- sta havebeenhiredandtrainingThankstotheGreenbankGarden mentedDr.SteveRussell,Medicalbegan in early April. Volunteers wereCentre, the property will be beauti-DirectorofthenewOakRidgesscreened, and received orientation. fully landscaped.Hospice in Port Perry. This is the his- Doctors were in the process of rec- The hospice will provide a warm toricrst hospice in Durham Region. ommendinghighprioritypalliativeandwelcomingenvironment,Dr. Its a place where people can livecare patients. There is a team ofveRussell described. The dcor is com-outtheir daysindignityanddoctors from the Medical Associatesfortableandcolourful,butsuitablenal comfortwithcompassionatecare,of Port Perry on board, plus familyfor a medical facility.surroundedbytheirlovedones.physicians are allowed to visit.There is no cost to a hospice resident.During his 30 year medical career,The 12,500 sq. ft. building Terminally ill individuals who enterDr. Russell made the following obser- includes ten private and spacious hospice usually stay for two to fourvation: It became apparent that thebedrooms (eight operational and weeks,accordingtotheprovincialpeople who care for a loved one at thetwo for future expansion)average, Dr. Russell said. end of life have diculty keeping up He pointed out that palliative pa- with the demands of care, even withThe Port Perry Patchers Quilt Guild tients are known as hospice residentsthehelpofhomecarenurses.Itscreatedovertwodozencozyquilts once they move into their new hospicestressful. And its 24 hours a day. Thefor the hospice. home. default is to call an ambulance to go toTherewillbeanhonourguard the hospital, a busy, noisy place, andwhensomeonepassesaway,and sometimes there are no beds available. when they are taken down the hall, it Thehospiceoptionprovidesawill be nice to put a beautiful quilt on calm, peaceful, home-like setting. Thethe bed, Dr. Russell explained. Its a staof doctors, nurses and PSWs aretouching ceremony.there 24/7 to provide medical care,The expectation is that the oc-so the family can focus on being withcupancy level at the hospice will be their loved ones. high. AcouchbedonthesamelevelThe 10 bed Morgan & Sidhu House astheresidentsbedisconvenientisnamedaftertwolegacydonors, forcuddling,Dr.Russellnoted.OfKevin Morgan and David Sidhu, who course,familymembersmayvisiteachcontributedalegacydonation residents, but they wont be permittedof $1 million to kick start the project. to stay overnight until the COVID-19When Dr. Russell met them in 2015, pandemic is over. they expressed an interest in establish-You can have a sneak peek at theing a hospice.Dr. Stephen Russells smile says it allprofessionally decorated hospice on a dream come true. the Oak Ridges Hospices of DurhamPlease turn to page 4FOCUS - MAY 20213'