Region again asked to help proposed hospices

By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express

Officials behind two proposed hospices are looking to the region for financial help.

Durham Region Hospice and VON Durham Region are asking for financial assistance for the construction of two new residential facilities.

It will be split into two phases, with the first phase costing $12.5 million, and the second $1.8 million.

The province has already contributed $3 million, and $5.7 million has been raised in the community.

According to a letter from Melodie Zarzeczny, chair of Durham Hospice and Chris Raynor, chair of VON Durham, site plans, building designs, and government approval have all been completed for 10-bed, 17,300 sq. ft. residential hospice in Whitby and a five-bed, 13,400 sq. ft. residential hospice in Clarington.

The Town of Whitby has donated land for the Whitby facility north on Crawford Street, while the Clarington facility will be built on Cobbledick Road in Newcastle, on land donated by that municipality.

“Despite Durham’s aging and booming population, it is one of the only regions of its size in Ontario without a residential hospice,” reads the letter. “There are several regional municipalities with much smaller populations that have a hospice [including] Halton, Muskoka, Niagara, and Waterloo.”

Zarzeczny and Raynor recently spoke to the City of Oshawa’s finance and community services committees for assistance, but Ward 5 city and regional councillor Brian Nicholson told the region’s finance and administration committee they hit a bump in the road.

The city then forwarded the request to the region.

“It seems Oshawa doesn’t have a funding mechanism for health-related issues and the region does,” he said. “That’s the only reason why this request was sent, because it’s for construction of facilities outside of the City of Oshawa, so we’re just simply sending it to the region for your information, and offering you to support whatever you think would be beneficial.”

Nicholson had also presented a motion to refer the matter to the budget, but hit a bit of a snag. Commissioner of finance Nancy Taylor pointed out the request had already come before council for both buildings.

“Regional council addressed this, so this request had already come to regional council, and so regional council has already, in 2018, approved the request for both of these,” she explained. “So that’s why the recommendation originally from staff was to receive for information.”

With that, Nicholson withdrew his motion, and the request will be received for information.